The Princess Diaries: The Pirate Queen
by Mlle. Phoenix Fox
Summary: POTCPrincess DiariesMonk crossover: JackOC romance! Defective detective Adrian Monk has been called in by Queen Mia of Genovia to solve an unusual mystery involving secret societies, hidden rooms, pirates, passion, treasure, murder and Capt. Jack Sparrow
1. Prologue: A Mystery Begins

**_A/N: Hey guys! I know I need to update my other stories, but those vicious plot bunnies wouldn't leave me alone. Besides, I really wanted a new Capt. Jack/OC fic in time for the new movie. EXCITED! So, just a heads up, this is a POTC fic, but you'll have to bear with me for a few chapters because it's also a Monk/PrincessDiariesmovie crossover! I know, but I think it works because both Monk and Movie Mia are from San Francisco. And...this fic will alternate between flashbacks with Cap. Jack and the modern day stuff with Monk and Queen Mia. But I'm sad to say the good Captain will not be making an appearance for a few chapters yet. But stay with me! _**

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**_So with further ado, here's the full plot summary, the disclaimer and as always, a request that you read, review, and enjoy!_**

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**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

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**_p.s. Forgive the slight cussing that will occur in this story, but Capt. Stottlemeijer is a character who cusses. I personally don't cuss, (at least I don't try to) but I understand it's neccessary for certain characters._**

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_**POTC/PRINCESSDIARIES/MONK CROSSOVER FIC! DON'T OWN ANYTHING BUT OC'S. **_

_**Adrian Monk has been called in by newly crowned Queen Amelia of Genovia to investigate an unusual mystery. Two break-ins have occurred at the Royal Palace in Genovia and the Genovian Embassy in San Francisco. Monk goes to Genovia (reluctantly) to investigate, with his assistant Natalie Teeger, Capt. Leland Stottlemeijer, and Lt. Randy Disher tagging along to help. When a palace guard is killed, his final mysterious words are 'Save the Pirate Queen...Minnie…' Monk's investigations lead him to find the diary of Queen Mia's ancestor and namesake, Queen Mignonette Amelia, commonly called the Virgin Queen. The diary reveals that Mignonette had a passionate love affair with an English Caribbean pirate named Captain Jack Sparrow. Is someone willing to kill to keep, or expose this secret?

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Prologue

"_Good Morning San Francisco, this is Nancy Harper with the 6 o'clock morning news. Today is Friday, May 2nd 2006, here's what's making news this hour. American born and San Francisco native Queen Amelia of Genovia had to cut her visit with her mother's family short last night when the Genovian Embassy downtown was robbed, the Queen's office ransacked. Local San Francisco PD is on the scene to help the FBI and the Genovian Secret Service investigate. Head of the Queen's personal staff Charlotte Kutaway said that so far, nothing of importance appears to have been taken, but still, the Queen has made arrangements to call in a special investigator. In other news…" _

Randy Disher flipped off the TV in Capt. Stottlemeijer's office and yawned,

"Wow…do you think that's what Capt. Brewer of Bulgary called us in for? Something to do with the Genovia case?"

"Aw come on, why call us?" Captain Leland Stottlemeijer asked trying to blink his eyes open after getting only one hour sleep in forty eight hours.

"Well we do know Monk…and maybe the Queen…" Randy offered.

"Randy…let's just wait for Monk to get here and for the call huh? Coffee." the Captain said pointing to the empty pot. Randy sat on the couch and said rubbing his eyes,

"Yeah that would be great thanks." The Captain gave him a dry look before telling him,

"Make the coffee."

"Right." Randy said getting up. No sooner had he spoken than when Adrian Monk, private investigator and consultant for the police department came in fully dressed in his usual attire of a brown suit and crème oxford shirt buttoned all the way up to his neck. His assistant, Natalie Teeger followed him yawning and dressed sloppily in a pink sweat suit.

"Oh hey Monk. Natalie." the Captain greeted him.

"Hey." Randy said as Monk asked,

"Captain, why call us in so early? Was there a murder?"

"Actually Capt. Brewer of Burglary asked me to have you meet me at the station. As to why…I don't have a freakin' clue." Capt. Stottlemeijer told him. Then he continued, "Besides, knowing you, you were up anyway vacuuming right?" Monk's head ticked to the side,

"Organizing my sock drawer…but that's beside the point."

"Yeah, seriously! I had to get my neighbor to watch Julie while I'm out. What is going on?" Natalie demanded as the phone began to ring. Stottlemeijer picked up the phone,

"We're about to find out. Hello? Brewer, what the heck is going on? I…what? Secure line? What? Uh-huh…uh-huh…uh-huh…thanks Brewer." He hung up the phone and said to himself in disbelief, "Oh my god…"

"What?" asked Randy.

"What? Captain what is it?" Monk asked. Capt. Stollemeijer looked up at Monk and said,

"Mr. Monk…your services have been required by the Queen."


	2. MrMonk meets the Queen

**_A/N: Yay! I got reviewed. You know you guys want to do the same! Now we're getting into the plot and the crossovers so hang with me. This story will take a while to set up. _**

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**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

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Mr. Monk looked around the ornate and crowded Genovian embassy as Charlotte Kutaway, a blond woman in her early thirties with a headset and a clipboard told him, Natalie, Randy and the Captain,

"Okay, when you meet Her Majesty and the Queen Mother, Gentlemen, you bow slightly at the waist, Ms. Teeger you cross at your ankles and curtsy. And only shake their hand when they reach out for it first."

"Really?" said Monk in wonder.

"Mr. Monk." warned Natalie. Suddenly, two pairs of feet descended the stairs as Charlotte announce,

"Oh…presenting her Royal Highness Queen Mother Clarisse Rinaldi Calivari, and Her Royal Majesty Queen Amelia Mignonette Themopolis Renaldi." An older but beautiful blonde woman in her sixties and a smart Chanel suit descended followed by a beautiful young brunette in her twenties with large brown eyes, but dressed casually in jeans and a long sleeve tee. Just then, the young Queen slipped on the stairs and slide down the rest of the way on her butt.

"Oh! Mia!" cried Clarisse as Randy, the Captain and Charlotte came forward quickly to help Mia up. Mia laughed and assured them,

"I'm fine! I'm fine! I'm okay!" Monk ticked his head to the side as Clarisse smiled and regained her composure saying,

"Thank you all so much for coming!"

"Your Majesties." the group chorused. Mia stepped forward to Adrian and reached out to shake his hand,

"Mr. Monk, I've heard so much about you. I followed all your cases back in high school and I even did a report on you once."

"Really?" Monk said waving off his usual wipe from Natalie. Natalie looked in surprise at the Captain, who shrugged as Mia smiled and told Monk,

"I know you can solve this case."

"Well of course Your Majesty but you already know I'm mostly a homicide detective." Adrian told her. Leading the way to the office, Mia told him,

"True…but I think this case might peak your interest."

"How so Your Majesty?" he asked.

"Well…four days ago…my office in Genovia was also broken into." Mia said.

"Excuse me?" Monk asked in confusion.

"We've managed to keep that intrusion secret, but it is only a matter of time the press finds out now with this second robbery. But the curious thing is, again…nothing seems to be missing." explained Clarisse as they entered the ransacked office. Papers were everywhere, paintings were off the wall, and furniture was overturned.

"Wow…what a mess…" Monk said beginning to hyperventilate.

"Focus Mr. Monk, focus!" Natalie told him. Mr. Monk's head ticked to the side as he went further into the room, stepping over the papers and moving his hands about.

"I say…what is he doing?" Clarisse asked the Captain.

"Well Your Majesty…Monk is being…Monk…" Stottlemeijer told her.

"Grandma, just let it go." Mia told her. Clarisse continued to watch curiously as Monk looked around the room. Then he focused on a cabinet and asked the Royals,

"Is this cabinet always locked?"

"Yes because that cabinet holds blueprints to the castle. But we already checked; the blueprints are still there." Mia told him. Adrian pushed aside the door with his pen and asked them,

"This key…where is it hidden?" Clarisse blinked in surprise,

"Why…in the desk drawer under the paneling."

"This key is what they were looking for. I'll bet…when the thief couldn't find it in Genovia…he came here…and tore the place apart looking for it. So that he could get to what is in this cabinet." Monk said.

"But Mr. Monk, we have already told you that nothing is missing." Clarisse said.

"Were there other blueprints in here besides the royal palace?" asked Monk. Clarisse and Mia came forward. Clarisse slipped on her glasses and said pulling some blueprints out,

"Well let us see here…no…no…it seems to be all here…except…oh…wait a moment the blue prints to the seaside palace are missing!"

"The seaside palace?" asked Natalie.

"A palace by the sea." Randy said.

"Yeah, we get that Randy." Capt. Stottlemeijer said.

"What's important about the seaside palace? Does is hold any valuables? Treasures?" Monk asked.

"Oh no…just royal family portraits mostly. We keep all the valuable and important stuff at the royal palace in the capital." Mia answered.

"Is there anything special about the seaside palace?" Monk asked.

"Well…it was built by her…Mignonette Amelia in the seventeenth century." Clarisse said pointing out a reproduction on the floor. She picked up the small oval portrait and they leaned in to see a beautiful young royal with brown curly hair, blue green eyes and pale porcelain skin dressed in royal silks and pearls.

"Mignonette Amelia?" Mia asked well naturedly.

"Your father named you after her. She was his favorite ancestor. And with good reason because she founded the University of Genovia, she helped build the pear industry and she waved taxes on the poor until they made enough per year. They called her the Virgin Queen." Clarisse explained.

"Why?" Randy asked blankly.

"Take a wild guess Lieutenant." the Captain said.

"She never married. Her younger sister Genevieve had to supply the heir, King William. She single handedly made Genovia a lasting kingdom. But as to her castle, nothing is really special about the place except Queen Mignonette spent nearly all her time there." Clarisse said.

"But let me guess. They passed the whole, 'Queen gets married by 21 law' after her reign right?" Mia asked.

"Yes, but only because they did not want to go through the drama of securing a new heir again." Clarisse told her granddaughter.

"I'm sorry, what are we talking about?" Monk asked.

"Recently, I came close to marrying someone I didn't love when Parliament tried to enforce this old law on me. But an emergency meeting at the wedding took care of that right quick." Mia explained.

"Mia dear, we do not say, 'right quick'. We say, 'Immediately'. Clarisse told Mia.

"Yes Grandma. Anyway, it wasn't a total loss of a wedding because Grandma got to marry Joe!" Mia said.

"Oh yeah I read about that. Congratulations Your Majesty!" Natalie said.

"Thank you Miss…?" Clarisse asked.

"Teeger. Natalie Teeger. It is an honor and beyond to meet you both!" Natalie said enthusiastically. Clarisse smiled and nodded humoring her before suggesting,

"Shall we continue this discussion in the parlor?" As the Royals led the way out, Natalie hung back a bit and asked Adrian,

"Did I sound like an idiot just now?"

"Yeah little bit…Boy you are so star struck." Monk said.

"Me? What about you? You didn't even take a wipe after shaking Queen Mia's hand." Natalie pointed out. Monk told her,

"She's royalty! The royals are generally very clean!"

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"Tea Capt. Stottlemeijer?" asked Mia pouring some cups full.

"Yes please. Thank you Your Majesty." the Captain said.

"You drink tea?" Randy whispered to him.

"Shut up." Stottlemeijer muttered to him as he took a sip.

"Mr. Monk?" asked Mia offering the tea.

"Actually…do you have any Sierra Springs water? It comes in a bottle?" Monk asked.

"No but we can get some for you. Charlotte, get Mr. Monk some Sierra Springs bottled water please." Clarisse ordered the young woman.

"Yes your Majesty." Charlotte said getting up.

"Oh no you don't have to do that!" Natalie told them.

"But if you do I think Johnson's drug store on the corner carries it. And be sure to get some from the back…that's the freshest." Monk called after her as Natalie shot him a look.

"Right away Mr. Monk." Charlotte said as she left.

"So what do you think Mr. Monk? Can you help us?" Mia asked hopefully.

"I would have to see the crime scene of the office in Genovia before I made any decisions." Monk said.

"Well then we shall arrange the trip right away." Clarisse said taking out her day planner.

"Oh no…no no no…that won't be possible." Monk said.

"Why not?" asked Mia.

"I…don't do well…on…planes." Monk said.

"That's true. Last time on a plane, he cried." Randy told them.

"Randy." warned Stottlemeijer.

"You see…Mr. Monk is sort of a…well…" Natalie said searching for the right word.

"Whusse." Monk supplied.

"No! Not a whusse! Just…obsessive compulsive and a bit of a hypochondriac." Natalie said.

"A bit?" asked the Captain.

"Shush." Natalie told him.

"Uh-huh. I see…Would you all excuse us for a moment? Thank you. Amelia? May I speak to you please?" Clarisse said standing up.

"Excuse us." Mia said as she and the others stood. Mia and Clarisse stepped to the side as Mia asked,

"What's wrong?"

"Mia, Mr. Monk seems like a very nice man…an odd man…but a nice man. However, I do not believe he is qualified to handle this job." Clarisse told her.

"Grandma, I know I haven't done the Queen thing as long as you have, but you have got to trust me on this one. When I lived in San Francisco I read all about Mr. Monk. He's a brilliant detective Grandma. He once solved like…three murders all by just reading about them in the newspaper! One…was in Paris, France! And I don't know about you but I can't even figure out the crosswords in newspapers let alone solve a murder from them." Mia told her. Clarisse sighed,

"Alright Mia. I shall trust your judgment." They returned to their guests where Monk had been quietly arguing with Natalie when he said,

"Queen Mia? I'm sorry…but I just can not take this case."

"What? But Monk this could be the biggest case of your career." Capt. Stottlemeijer told him.

"I know…but…airplanes…I can't stand all the…people…close…together…I'm sorry." Monk said apologetically.

"Well we can fly you on our private plane there. There would only be me, my grandma, a few security, you and your friends." Mia said trying to talk him into it.

"Are the security personnel…necessary?" Monk asked.

"We'll pay you a very good fee." Mia tried.

"How good?" asked Natalie.

"Let's just say that after this case, you'll only take cases for fun." Mia said with a smile.

"Oh Mr. Monk please!" Natalie begged.

"I…don't…" Monk started.

"All the Sierra Springs you can drink?" Mia offered.

"Really?" Monk asked in awe.


	3. Genovia

**_A/N: I love Sharona too, but I will not be having her or any other Monk characters make an appearance in this story. Well, maybe the Stottlemeyer family. Otherwise it just does not fit in with what I'm trying to do with this story. Anywho, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and all the mystery involved. Read and Review!_**

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**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

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Two days later found Adrian Monk completely relaxed, blindfolded from the view, and sipping a bottle of Sierra Springs out of a straw on the private jet of the Renaldi family. Capt. Stottlemeyer walked up to him and asked,

"Hey Monk, how you doin'?"

"Beautiful…" sighed Monk.

"Found the massage chair feature?" Stottlemeyer asked with a smile.

"Oh yeah…"

"Keep up the good work. We'll be landing in Pyrus in twenty minutes." Stottlemeyer told him clapping his shoulder.

"What?" asked Monk growing fearful again and lifting the corner of his blindfold.

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They landed in the Genovian International Airport greeted by cheering subjects and paparazzi. As Monk got off the plane, he went forward to a cameraman and used his sleeve to rub the lens clean until the cameraman pushed him and Natalie had to pull Monk away.

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In the limo, Mia asked Natalie, who was stroking her daughter's Julie's hair,

"Um…why is Mr. Monk sitting up front?"

"He always has to sit up front!" Julie told Mia as Natalie gave her a smile and a shrug.

"Ah!" nodded Mia.

"Can you slow down please?" Monk asked the driver.

They arrived at the large, fifteenth century palace of stone and lush gardens within thirty minutes. It should have taken fifteen. Anyway, Adrian was led to his room where he, Natalie and Julie gasped,

"Wow…"

"This is so cool!" Julie exclaimed.

"Yeah, isn't this nice? I can't wait to check out our room!" Natalie said giving her a side hug. Monk pointed to the bed in awe,

"Look at the corners of the bed! They're…perfect!"

"Well I did fax Charlotte a list of your 'requirements'." Natalie said earning a giggle from Julie. Monk turned to Natalie and whispered,

"Bless you." Charlotte came in and told Monk,

"Okay Mr. Monk, we'll give you a half hour to get settled and unpacked…" Charlotte stopped looking at all of Adrian's luggage, "Or not…But the Queen Mother does wish you join her in the office downstairs in a half hour seeing as Queen Mia shall be busy with Parliment. A page can show you the way. And if you need anything from our twenty four hour maid service, just pull that cord and they'll see to it within reason."

"Anything?" asked Monk.

"Within reason!" Charlotte nodded as she exited talking into her headset.

"Natalie."

"Yes Mr. Monk."

"Am I dead? Because I think this is heaven." Monk said with a smile.

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Sir Joseph Calivari stood beside his wife, Queen Clarisse as they watched the unusual American detective comb through the room. He was currently pointing his index finger in the air and looking at the ceiling, while his colleagues, Capt. Stottlemeyer looked through a pile of papers and Lt. Disher took down some notes. Joe raised an eyebrow in dry curiosity.

"Miss Teeger?" Joe asked getting Natalie's attention.

"Yes Sir Joseph?"

"How long has Mr. Monk been like this?" he asked.

"Joseph!" scolded Clarisse.

"No it's okay; his therapist says it is good for him. Anyway, I think he's been like this his whole life. But between you and me, if you meet the brother, you'll realize Adrian…is the normal one!" Natalie said.

"I see…well…he was a police officer for several years. He must have been able to carry a gun…once." Joe said.

"I'm sorry, how did you know about Mr. Monk's past?" Natalie asked.

"I was head of Security for the Royal Family for over forty years Ms. Teeger. I made sure we knew everything about all of you before letting you take the case." Joe replied.

"You mean you know about…" Natalie asked with trepidation.

"Do not fear Ms. Teeger your secret is safe with me!" Joe said giving her a friendly wink. Adrian sighed, his arms falling to his sides saying,

"Yeah…I was right…The thieves wanted the key and the blueprints to the sea side palace. Nothing else is missing. But…I can't help but feel…"

"What Monk, what?" Capt. Stottlemeyer asked looking up from the desk.

"Something about this room…isn't right…something is out of place." Monk said.

"The room was ransacked, everything is out of place." Clarisse pointed out.

"Yes…but something…doesn't belong…" Monk said trying to figure it out. Randy looked around when he noticed,

"The fireplace!"

"What?" asked Monk.

"The fireplace has ashes in it. Why would there be ashes in it in the middle of summer?" Randy said taking a fire poker and rooting around.

"You know that's true! Castles are rather drafty sometimes but certainly not in the middle of summer." Clarisse said as they all stepped closer to the fireplace. Randy's eyes lit up and he reached in seeing a corner of a paper still in tact.

"Here we go! The preps must have burned some evidence." Randy said handing the paper to Capt. Stottlemeyer.

"Good work Randy. Your Majesty? Does this look familiar?" Capt. Stottlemeyer said handing the paper to the Queen Mother. Clarisse slipped on her glasses and carefully read the corner of the paper. There was a series of numbers and a coat of arms in the corner. The shield had four corners, the top left white corner having a gold lion, the top right red corner having a black sparrow flying against an ocean horizon. The lower left black corner had an outline of a black tall ship, and the lower right white corner having a gold pear. A banner draped across read in Latin, 'Addo Horizon'.

"No…I've never seen that type of coat of arms before." Clarisse said shaking her head.

"Wait a moment, the lion and the pear…those are symbols of the Renaldi family and Genovia." Joe said.

"Is there anymore symbolism about the coat of arms?" Monk asked.

"Well…the gold means generosity, black constancy, white peace, and red means courage. The lion also means courage; the ship means a country is seafaring, which Genovia is…the pear of course represents our number one export, the Genovian pear. As to the sparrow in flight…I have no idea…I've never seen that symbol before." Clarisse said.

"Neither have I Mr. Monk. Perhaps that is a special symbol meant to represent the specific family or group the coat of arms was designed for." Joe said letting Monk exam the paper.

"Addo Horizon…I took a little Latin in high school…doesn't that mean…'Bring the Horizon'?" Randy asked.

"Two for two today Randy." the Captain said.

"Bring the horizon…these numbers…13…46…29…53…36…do those numbers have any significance to you Your Majesty?" Monk asked.

"I'm sorry but no." Clarisse said as Mia entered the room and exclaimed,

"Whoo! Parliament was taking forever today! But don't worry, I've reassured them we've got this whole business under control…We do have it under control right, Mr. Monk?"

"So far…Your Majesty…13…46…29…53…36…Do those numbers mean anything to you?" Monk asked.

"Nope. Why?" asked Mia.

"Lt. Disher here, so aptly found this unusual piece of paper in the fireplace. The intruders must have burned it." Clarisse explained showing the clue to Mia as Randy beamed from the Queen Mother's praise.

"Huh…it looks like it came from an old book, made out of parchment you know. Weird…" Mia said.

"Yes…very weird. Your Majesty, I think we need to go to the sea side palace immediately to further the investigation." Monk suggested.

"Very well…Mr. Monk you and your friends can go in the morning in the towncar. We have to stay here for democratic business and all that. Grandma." Mia said motioning her grandparents to follow her.

"Thank you your Majesty." Monk said as the Royals left the room. Capt. Stottlemeyer asked Adrian,

"So Monk…what do you think?"

"Whoever took the blueprints to the seaside palace, didn't want us to find out about this coat of arms and whoever it belongs to. I think if we figure out where this coat of arms came from, it will lead us to who the thieves may be." Monk explained.

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In a darkened hallway of the royal palace, two figures nervously whispered amongst themselves. One kept playing with a hidden enamel pin in the shape of a coat of arms in white, red, gold and black. One said,

"But sir! The Queen hired the American to find the thieves! Surely he can do our job for us."

"No…the Brotherhood can't risk this…Monk fellow to discover the secret we have sworn to guard for over three hundred years. No…Demetrius, you shall go to the seaside palace tomorrow and keep them from discovering the secret room. And you shall find the thieves yourself, understand?" the authority figure said.

"Yes Milord."


	4. Windrose

_** A/N:Okay people, tell your friends this fic exists! I need more readers and more reviews. And we're just getting into the mystery! Please read, review and endorse! That being said, I have an annoucement to make. To celebrate my upcoming one year anniversary (and because I really want it) I am having a fan-art contest. No prizes just acclaim. The complete rules are on my profile page, but in short, here's what I want you fan-artists to do. Complete a piece of fan art for ANY of the stories I have written for this website. No smut please, any media as long as I can see it on the computer screen, email it to me with a private message by AUGUST 14th, 2006! The winners (which will probably be anyone who submits something) will be announced on AUGUST 25, 2006. I'm giving you two months to do this people so I hope you enter! Please visit my profile page for the complete rules and hey, I'd appreciate it if you drop me a private message telling me to keep an eye out for your fan-art. : ) So have fun with the contest. I'll try to update on other stories soon to let more people know about the contest. **_

_**peace, love and lipgloss, **_

_**Mlle.Fox

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The ride to the seaside palace should have taken a little over an hour. But with Mr. Adrian Monk in the passenger seat of the town car, the ride took nearly two hours. Captain Stottlemeyer yelled at Monk once they had pulled up to the palace,

"MONK! Why…do you insist on driving so damn slow?"

"I didn't drive." Monk said infuriating the Captain more. Natalie waved them off saying,

"Oh quit it you two. Wow…will you look at this place?" They all took in the castle that rested on a gentle cliff just over the beach. Torrents and towers reached up to the sky, stained glass was in nearly every window. Ivy creped up the stone sides to truly complete the effect of a fairy tale castle. Rose bushes and imported willow trees dotted the front gardens. Randy read aloud from a Genovia tour guide book,

"Built in the year 1679 for Her Majesty Mignonette Amelia, the Virgin Queen, the castle estate named Windrose, is known to the Royal family as the seaside palace and is used as a summer residence. Legend has it Mignonette built the castle for an unknown lover, said to be a merchant sailor of Genovian pears, who never returned her affections and she died of a broken heart waiting for him to return her love. Ghost stories around Windrose claim that the ghost of the Virgin Queen still wanders the halls waiting for her sea captain to return and tell her he loves her."

"Wow…that's so romantic and sad all at the same time." Natalie observed.

"Yeah…I know the feeling." Adrian said thinking of his late, murdered wife Trudy. The Captain forgot his earlier frustration to give his friend a comforting pat on the shoulder, knowing exactly what he was thinking about. They went to the front door only to be greeted by a tall elderly butler, who bowed and said with a heavy French accent,

"Capt. Stottlemeyer? Monsieur Monk?"

"That's us…and this is Ms. Natalie Teeger and Lt. Randy Disher. Her Majesty sent us?" the Captain said shaking the man's hand.

"I am Donald, Monsieur…The Queen asked me to give you a grand tour to help with your investigation."

"That would be excellent…thank you." Monk said.

"If you will follow me please?" Donald said shuffling his way inside. Pages and guards stood at attention as maids and butlers cleaned the high vaulted ceilings, chandeliers, polished the furniture, and mopped the floors.

"We are preparing to open the house for the summer season…since the Royal family likes to holiday here." Donald explained.

"Has the staff been thoroughly checked out?" We have reason to suspect someone might try to break in." Monk asked.

"Yes…yes Monsieur…Everyone has been working here for years. And the guards have been on duty for the past week. No one from outside the Queen's staff could get in here." Donald answered taking them up the grand stair case. Once they had passed, one palace guard followed them with his eyes before slipping away unnoticed. Donald showed them all over the castle, giving them the chance to check out every bed chamber, dining room, kitchen, parlor and the grand ballroom on the third floor. They walked down the hall of the fourth floor with Donald pointing out one grand double door,

"That…was Queen Mignonette's private chambers. Queen Mia shall sleep there when she comes for holiday. And this…" he opened a door to a long room full of portraits and paintings, "…is the Private Gallery…we don't even let the tourists see this." The room was gold marble and tall white columns. A compass design was etched on the floor in dark bronze. On the walls was portrait after portrait of Renaldis. A portrait of Queen Mia and Queen Mother Clarisse was on the far wall. Natalie admired the lifelike painting, when she looked to her left into a pair of blue green eyes. Looking down softly on her with a mysterious knowing smile was Queen Mignonette. She was dressed in a regal red, gold and white gown, with a square cut neckline trimmed with lace, three quarter length sleeves ending in a lace bell, a gold and diamond tiara on her head, framed by high brown curls piled on top.

"Look…its Queen Mignonette again. Wow…she was so beautiful." Natalie said.

"Yeah…all the hot chicks are taken, gay or dead…" Randy said looking at the portrait. Natalie glared at him and said,

"Please tell me you're kidding."

"That portrait…something's…missing…" Monk said looking at it.

"Here we go again. Okay Monk. What's missing?" asked the Captain.

"I don't know…look at the pose…it's like…she's standing to one side so you can see something…but nothing but red curtains are there." Monk said.

"So?" asked Stottlemeyer.

"So….something's missing!" Monk insisted.

"Mr. Monk…nothing is there!" Natalie told him.

"Something's missing…"Monk said quietly.

"Okay here's what we're going to do…Monk…you and Natalie go outside and…I don't know check the family cemetery or something…there is a cemetery right?" The Captain asked Donald.

"Oui Monsieur. A small one. Including the remains of Mignonette." Donald replied.

"Right…Randy and I shall look around inside…maybe check the offices…the Queen's room…obviously if we know something about this Queen Mignonette, maybe we can figure out what the thieves are after." Stottlemeyer said. Monk was silent for a moment before his head ticked to the side and he said,

"Okay…"

"Great…Randy…Donald." the Captain said exiting the room.

"Wait Mr. Donald!" Monk said catching the old butler.

"Yes Monsieur?"

"I have a coat of arms here…have you ever seen it before?" Monk asked pulling out a color copy of the emblem. Donald squinted his eyes at it and shook his head,

"No Monsieur Monk."

"What about the numbers 13, 46,29,53,36? Do those sound familiar?" Monk asked.

"No sir…excuse me." Donald said exciting.

"13, 46, 29, 53, 36…"Monk repeated softly.

* * *

"Mr. Monk what's wrong?" asked Natalie.

"This case…I feel as if there is something bigger here than a simple thief…something…deeper…more secret…" Monk said looking around the graves and touching each headstone as he passed.

"Yeah this case is so weird…first there was the stolen blueprints to Windrose…" Natalie said.

"A castle the royals don't even keep valuable antiques in…" Monk said.

"Then the weird coat of arms and those numbers…" Natalie said.

"And now Queen Mignonette's portrait." Monk said.

"Are you sure there's a clue in the portrait?" Natalie asked.

"One hundred percent…well…maybe…seventy-five percent…or ninety percent…no seventy five…" Monk said before stopping short before one gravestone.

"What?" Mr. Monk what is it?" Natalie asked watching as his eyes sparkled and a smile lit up his face. He pointed out a craving on the grave,

"Natalie…does this look familiar?" Natalie looked and gasped. It was a colorless version of the mysterious coat of arms! Natalie pulled out the copy and crotched down to compare the two,

"Oh my gosh Mr. Monk you're right! They're the same! 'Sir William Turner: Husband, father, friend, brother, blacksmith…" Natalie pushed away the overgrowth and read with wonder, "…and pirate!' Pirate?"

"Natalie…look over at his wife Elizabeth…" Monk said pointing out the next grave over. "Lady Elizabeth Turner: Wife, mother, friend, sister…pirate…' She has the symbol on her grave too."

"I wonder who they were?" Natalie asked.

"Pirates…" Monk answered.

"No! I know that…but why would two pirates be buried in a ROYAL cemetery?" Natalie asked.

"I don't know…"Monk sighed trying to figure it all out. Just then…Monk heard a shuffling sound against stone. He looked up and to his right where he saw a mysterious shadow rappel down to one of the windows in the balconies.

"Hey!" Monk shouted pointing out the intruder to Natalie, who gasped,

"Oh my god!" They began to run inside, when someone pushed a wheelbarrow in their way making them crash to the ground. Monk looked up just in time to see a guard running inside.

"Come on Natalie hurry!" Monk said helping her up and following the guard. The guard said well ahead of them and led them all the way up to the fourth floor. That was when they heard a shot in the private gallery.

* * *

Captain Stottlemeyer sighed throwing some papers on the desk and rubbing his forehead.

"Nothing! We've been searching this study for over an hour now…and nothing!" he said. Randy was about to agree with him, when they heard a loud pop come from upstairs.

"What was that?" asked Randy. The Captain flew from the chair he had been sitting in, pulling out his gun,

"Gunfire!" Randy just pulled out his gun as they passed Donald and a group of terrified maids in the hall, Donald yelling,

"What's going on?"

"Call the police! Have the guards come to the fourth floor!" Stottlemeyer commanded him. He and Randy entered the fourth floor quietly, listening for danger. Seeing the open gallery door, Stottlemeyer nodded and they both cautiously approached the door. Stottlemeyer kicked the door all the way open and he and Randy aimed their guns, ready to shoot if they had too. Instead, they saw Monk and Natalie kneeling over a bleeding guard…obviously been shot. What was curious was the room now had part of its oak paneling open where a secret passage was seen.

"Captain! In here!" Monk called.

"Monk! What the hell happened?" Stottlemeyer asked lowering his gun as he and Randy came in.

"Someone broke into the gallery, this guard tried to stop us from getting here first, he went in after the intruder…and got shot…" Monk explained. The guard, a man in his late forties grunted and groaned trying to speak,

"Save…"

"Shh…don't talk…save your strength." Natalie told him.

"Randy, go downstairs, make sure they called an ambulance." Stottlemeyer told the Lieutenant.

"Right." Randy said running out. The guard ignored Natalie and pulled off a small enamel pin from his gold and red brocade jacket, his white gloves now stained in crimson blood. He palmed the object to Monk and told him in a strained whisper,

"Save...the Pirate Queen…Minnie…" Then, his eyes rolled back in his head and with a sigh he was gone. Natalie shook her head at the Captain grimly.

"Oh crap…" Stottelmeijer said. Monk opened his palm and they all looked in wonder seeing the same red, white, black and gold coat of arms that so mysteriously kept popping up.


	5. Secrets

_**A/N: Whoo! What a chapter! Now I know you growing fans out there would like me to update everyday, but I'm trying to keep the updates to about once a week. I'm already five chapters ahead, and I even made an outline so I know exactly where I want this story to go and won't get plagued by writers block! I really think you'll like this chapter too. And the next chapter will be my first flashback! No Jack though...not yet...**_

_**That being said, I have an annoucement to make. To celebrate my upcoming one year anniversary (and because I really want it) I am having a fan-art contest. No prizes just acclaim. The complete rules are on my profile page, but in short, here's what I want you fan-artists to do. Complete a piece of fan art for ANY of the stories I have written for this website. No smut please, any media as long as I can see it on the computer screen, email it to me with a private message by AUGUST 14th, 2006! The winners (which will probably be anyone who submits something) will be announced on AUGUST 25, 2006. I'm giving you two months to do this people so I hope you enter! Please visit my profile page for the complete rules and hey, I'd appreciate it if you drop me a private message telling me to keep an eye out for your fan-art. : ) So have fun with the contest. I'll try to update on other stories soon to let more people know about the contest.**_

_**peace, love and lipgloss, **_

_**Mlle.Fox

* * *

**_

"Demetrius Guttiseppi…he served the Royal family as a palace guard for over twenty five years. What he was doing here instead of Renaldi palace escapes me. I heard he was about to take an early retirement." Joe said to the coroner who had lifted the white sheet of the now pale stiff corpse. Clarisse said mournfully as the coroner lowered the sheet,

"What a waste." They had arrived a little over an hour ago when they heard of the murder. The problem was the press beat them to Windrose by a half hour. Now Mia was outside doing damage control and Clarisse and Joe were organizing the palace staff to cooperate with Mr. Monk and the Genovian police. Joe kept his eye on Capt. Stottlemeyer. It had not escaped his notice that the American policeman was efficient and giving his expert advice when the Genovian superior officers could not. Joe's thoughts were interrupted when Mia barged in the front hall and groaned,

"GAAHHH! Finally got the vultures off me. Opps! Was the vulture joke in poor taste?" Clarisse gave her granddaughter a comforting smile,

"Well Darling a man is dead…however I think he would understand you did not intend to insult him by using one of your Americanisms." Mia nodded then looked wide eyed at the figure under the sheet,

"Is that…?"

"A palace guard by the name of Demetrius Guttiseppi, Majesty. Mr. Monk said he died in the line of duty." Joe said lifting the sheet to show Mia.

"EW!" Mia exclaimed grossed out by the idea of seeing a corpse.

"Now…that…Mia Dear…that I think Mr. Guttiseppi would take offence of." Clarisse told Mia dryly as Capt. Stottlemeyer came up to the group.

"Excuse me Your Majesty, Mr. Monk asks you meet him upstairs in the Private Gallery." he told them.

"Thank you Capt. Stottlemeyer." Clarisse said to him.

"The gallery? Isn't that the crime scene?" Mia asked.

"Yes it is Your Majesty." Joe said ushering her along.

"Isn't that where Mr. Guttiseppi died?" Mia asked her voice an octave higher.

"Right again." Clarisse said.

"Isn't the gallery right next to my bedroom?" Mia asked as they climbed the stairs.

"Yes it is Mia." Clarisse told her.

"OY!" Mia exclaimed.

"If you have ill feelings toward the place, Majesty, one can only guess Mr. Guttiseppi did not hold it in high regard." Joe said. The whole castle had been in a fury of cleaning to prepare for Mia's arrival. Now it was a fury of investigation as police and security combed the area, searching for any clue to help them solve the crime. They entered the main gallery where Monk and Natalie were examining the revealed secret passage in the far left hand corner of the room.

"Good heavens! What is that?" exclaimed Clarisse seeing the secret passage.

"You mean you didn't know a secret passage was there?" the Captain asked her.

"Why no! I use to play in this castle when I was a little girl and I remember a lot of good hiding places but I have never seen this before." Clarisse said walking over to the door and looking in.

"Where does it go?" asked Mia.

"Straight back outside to the beach. The killer is long gone." Monk told her.

"Kill-er? As in only one?" asked Mia."

"I only saw one climbing in the window." Monk said pointing to the open stained glass window.

"The guy came in board daylight? Someone's cocky!" Mia said as Capt. Stottlemeyer looked over the windows lining the right hand wall and their designs. There were five windows, all depicting life on the sea. One showed a band of pirates lead by their captain, and when the light hit it a certain way they looked like they turned into skeletons. Another was of a sea monster overtaking a ship, another of sailors fighting off mermaids and Sirens, and another one about a battle at sea with Chinese ships. The one in the middle was of one black ship with black sails. And something was very familiar about that ship. The Captain then noticed all the stained glass had something familiar in each of the corners.

"Monk…look at the windows…see something familiar?" he said to Monk. Adrian looked and saw in each of the windows,

"13, 46, 29, 53, 36! The numbers on the piece of paper!"

"The numbers must have something to do with this room!" Mia exclaimed.

"But what?" asked Natalie.

"Save the Pirate Queen…these windows all tell stories about sailing and adventure on the sea…a black ship with the black sails…that was part of the coat of arms. There are two people buried in the cemetery by the name of Turner…they had the coat of arms on their graves and their inscriptions both proclaimed loud and proud that they were…pirates…" Monk said as the pieces began to come together.

"Mr. Monk I know there's a point floating around in there. Any chance it's gonna come to the surface?" Mia asked. Monk turned to her and said,

"Your Majesty…I think this mystery…all has to do with your ancestor's association with pirates."

"Pirates? That is ridiculous! The Renaldis were never pirates, it was not dignified!" Clarisse protested.

"But Your Majesty…look at all the evidence! The ships, the art, the shield, and Guttiseppi's last words…"Save the Pirate Queen…Minnie." Monk told her.

"Minnie?" asked Mia.

"Mignonette…" whispered Clarisse in understanding. Monk nodded and said,

"Guttiseppi had the coat of arms in the form of a pin. I think he must have belonged to some kind of…secret organization meant to protect the truth about Mignonette's past. He knew the secret…and he got killed for it."

"Which means the murderer knows the secret too…" Capt. Stottlemeyer said.

"But maybe…maybe the murderer is looking for proof of the secret." Randy suggested.

"I think so too…That's why he broke into your offices, Your Majesty. He needed the blueprints to Windrose so he could figure out where the proof would most likely be…in this room…" Monk said.

"Wow…this is getting more Nancy Drew by the second." Mia observed.

"But why should the murderer be concerned with a Renaldi possibly being a pirate? Other royals have certainly been worst." Clarisse asked.

"True…but…I don't know what the motive could be…but if we find out the secret…I think we will." Monk said. Then he focused on the portrait of Mignonette and approached it as the others all watched him curiously. He took out a handkerchief and began to run his covered hand all over the edges of the frame.

"Mr. Monk? What are you doing?" asked Joe.

"Mignonette is in the middle of this secret…maybe the answer lies with her painting." Monk said getting on his knee to run his hand along the bottom of the painting that touched the floor. As he stood again to come up the left hand side of the frame, a small click could be heard. Everyone watched in awe as Monk pulled and the portrait swung on a hidden hinge revealing an oak door with a crude lock on the front made of five dials all with various numbers, five inlaid sparkling diamonds circling them.

"Another hidden door! What's next? A penguin dancing with a chimney sweep?" Clarisse asked sarcastically.

"Grandma! Let Mr. Monk think!" Mia told her grandmother. Suddenly, Monk pulled out his copy of the shield and numbers and looked at the lock as Natalie asked him,

"Mr. Monk? What is it?" asked Natalie.

"Natalie…13, 46, 29, 53, 36…it is a lock combination! This lock combination! Try it!" Monk told her handing her the paper.

"Why do I have to try it?" asked Natalie.

"Well I don't know who touched it last." explained Monk as if it were obvious. Natalie rolled her eyes and sighed, approaching the door.

"Okay…here we go…13…right…46…left…29…right…53…left…and…36 right!" Natalie said turning the dials on the lock. A loud click was heard and Joe stepped forward saying,

"Allow me…Capt. Stottlemeyer? Lt. Disher? Your assistance please?" The three came forward and pushed, the door creaking open, cobwebs and dust flying. They all peered inside and the light from the gallery revealed a dusty old bedroom. The décor was nautical, masculine and various shades of blue, a four poster canopy bed with ratted muslin hanging down. Trunks, barrels, crates were stacked high amongst the cobwebs and covered paintings and furniture littered the room like white ghosts of long ago.

"Wow…Hellooo Nancy Drew!" Mia exclaimed stepping into the room.

"Careful Dear…" Joe said to Clarisse helping her over the threshold.

"What is this place?" asked Natalie looking around. Randy went over to what looked like and door and pulled it open. More light entered the room as the other room was revealed to be…

"My bedroom!" Mia exclaimed wide eyed.

"That door must have been there for hundreds of years and nobody knew it." Stottlemeyer observed noting the side of the Mia's bedroom looked exactly like the wall. In fact, another portrait of Mignonette, only smaller, hung on the wall.

"Well…somebody must have lived here once…" Natalie said as Monk pulled open an armoire.

"Men's clothes…this was a man's bedroom." he said. Clarisse pulled off a cloth on one of the paintings only to find herself looking into a pair of intense brown eyes.

"Perhaps it was him!" Clarisse said as Adrian came over to examine the painting. The man had a golden brown tan, long, thick black hair woven in dreadlocks and beads, a thin mustache and a beard ending in two small plaits, a red bandanna wrapped around his forehead and he wore Asian silks cut in a Western style. His face was angular with high cheekbones and impossibly handsome.

"Wow…what a fox!" Mia exclaimed appreciatively.

"Perhaps he was a fox in the intellectual content as well." Joe said.

"Mr. Monk, do you think this man could have been a pirate?" asked Clarisse.

"Well he certainly looks like a pirate would look…"Monk said.

"Hey! Maybe the legend about Mignonette's lover is true!" Randy exclaimed.

"Oh no…not that old ghost story about the merchant sea captain!" Clarisse groaned.

"Excuse me Your Majesty but don't they say that behind every legend is a small ounce of truth?" Randy asked.

"But they guy looks more like a pirate than a merchant sailor." Stottlemeyer said.

"But what about…"

Mia stayed out of the argument and looked around the room. She scolded herself for not knowing more about her family's history. She felt she had no place to take place in the argument. Sometimes she hated being young and inexperienced! She doubted herself a lot. How was she going to be queen of a country for the rest of her life when she wasn't one hundred percent sure she knew what she was doing? Suddenly, her eyes stopped on a black mahogany writing desk. The desk seemed to call to her as she stepped closer. It was covered in sea charts and maps and years of dust. But what really caught her attention, was the thick leather book with gold leaf embossed in multiple filigree and design, an ornate letter G the centerpiece. The book had a lock on it, the key by its side. The key was old, and it looked to be made of solid gold. Apparently, the chain attached to it indicated someone wore it around their neck once. Mia looked over at the small portrait of Mignonette hanging on the hidden door leading to her bedroom. The portrait featured Mignonette in a dark blue gown, and only from the waist up, but hanging from her neck was a golden key.

Mia picked up the key and the book with shaking hands. She inserted the key into the lock and it fit perfectly, opening the lock with a small click. She slowly opened the book and looked at the first page,

'_To Whom It May Concern, _

_I leave this diary as a record of my life, starting from the death of my beloved father, King Gerald the Second, (God bless King Gerald). This diary marks the beginning of my reign as Queen Mignonette Amelia Renaldi, Twenty-fourth ruler of the Kingdom of Genovia. I pray the finder of this diary is one of mine relations, for only blood can be trusted with such a secret. To whoever shall find this testament, take heed. What thou art about to read art mine private thoughts, my feelings, my emotions but more importantly my adventures with one extraordinary, wonderful and infuriating man. The one and only Capt. Jack Sparrow, captain of the pirate ship The Black Pearl. Do not judge mine actions, gentle Reader, for if thou shalt learn one lesson from my story, it is this, _

_A pirate can also be a good man_

_Ye be warned._

_Respectfully Yours, _

_Her Royal Majesty, Mignonette Amelia Renaldi _

_July 28th, 1738_'

"Mia? Darling, what do you have there?" Clarisse asked noticing her granddaughter.

"Mignonette's dairy…Mr. Monk…I think this is the secret we have all been looking for." Mia answered.

* * *

To say the least, everyone was shocked at Mia's revelation. Monk had crossed over immediately to look over her shoulder at the old diary, soon followed by everyone else. Mia then ordered everyone to meet her downstairs in the library, where she would read aloud from it there. She exited the room first, the diary clutched to her chest. Clarisse sighed knowing this must be upsetting for the girl. First the robberies, now a murder all over some colossal secret having to do with one of her relatives. 

Everyone met her downstairs as she ordered, seeing Mia just get off the telephone.

"Mr. Monk I just ordered a team of archeologists from Genovia University to come examine the room…and I ordered the Royal Guard to come watch it twenty four-seven." she said quietly.

"That was very wise Mia." Clarisse told her.

"Thanks…if everyone can sit down…I guess we can start reading this thing to learn the secret as soon as possible. It's funny…Grandma look …it looks just like my diary." Mia told her.

"Yes…it was probably made by the same royal book binders that your father got your diary from. Well…the same company at least." Clarisse said sitting down. Mia came around the desk and held up the book to Clarisse,

"Grandma? Would you read it? You're her relative too." Mia asked. Clarisse simply nodded and took the book from her. Mia went to sit down on the couch by Natalie and Adrian. Joe stood by Clarisse's chair, Stottlemeyer stood, leaning against the wall, and Randy sat in a chair opposite the Queen Mother.

"Wow…this is so weird…it's like something led us to finding that room and that book." Natalie whispered to Monk.

"Yeah…the murderer." Monk said staying focused on the case at hand. Clarisse slipped on her glasses and began to read,

"Let's start at the very beginning…_'March 3rd, in the year of our Lord 1678…Father died last week. The streets are filled with mourners crying, "God Save King Gerald…God Bless Queen Mignonette!" All my heart hears is 'My Papa is dead." Last night, I heard Genevieve crying out for him in her sleep and I rushed straight to her bedchambers…" _

The room seemed to fad away into mist as the years almost rolled back in time, taking the eager listeners to that night so long ago at the Renaldi palace in Pyrus…


	6. Mignonette

_**A/N: Doesn't anyone want to enter my fan art contest? I haven't heard a word about it. Pretty please withcheeries on top? Here are the details again...**_

_**To celebrate my upcoming one year anniversary (and because I really want it) I am having a fan-art contest. No prizes just acclaim. The complete rules are on my profile page, but in short, here's what I want you fan-artists to do. Complete a piece of fan art for ANY of the stories I have written for this website. No smut please, any media as long as I can see it on the computer screen, email it to me with a private message by AUGUST 14th, 2006! The winners (which will probably be anyone who submits something) will be announced on AUGUST 25, 2006. I'm giving you two months to do this people so I hope you enter! Please visit my profile page for the complete rules and hey, I'd appreciate it if you drop me a private message telling me to keep an eye out for your fan-art. : ) So have fun with the contest. I'll try to update on other stories soon to let more people know about the contest. **_

**_Back to the story, well folks, here's the first flashback! No Jack...but two chapters from now you'll see a bit of our beloved Captain...then two chapters after that he will be officially in the story! Hope you like Mignonette. Tell me what you think._**

**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle. Fox_**

**_p.s. less than two weeks till Dead Man's Chest can you believe it? (insert fangirl squeal here) _**

_

* * *

_

_...so long ago in Pyrus..._

Mignonette lit a candle, casting dark shadows of the walls in her large bedroom. She grabbed her dressing gown and slipped out of bed tying the silk ribbons around her bosom. She picked up the candle and walked out of her bedroom, the sentry standing at attention. She didn't even look them in the eye as she headed down the hall towards the cries of,

"Papa! Papa! Papa!" Soft sobs and muffled voices filled the air as Mignonette turned the handle and entered the room. With her knees curled up to her chest sat Genevieve Patrice, Princess of Genovia and second in line for the Genovian Throne. But Mignonette only saw her eleven year old baby sister, her tears flowing down her face. The governess was scolding her,

"Your Highness must stop this foolishness immediately and go straight back to sleep!"

"Her Highness may do as she pleases, Governess Baracaldo." Mignonette told the old gray woman icily. Governess Baracaldo jumped and spun around to stutter,

"Your Majesty! Forgive me I did not see you standing there!"

"You should be asking my forgiveness for your harsh manner towards the Princess, Baracaldo…but if you leave us I shall forget this incident ever happened." Mignonette said dismissively. The old woman curtsied and practically ran from the room if it wasn't dignified.

"I'm sorry I woke you Sister…I shall go back to sleep." Genevieve said hanging her head in submission. Mignonette gave her a warm smile and approached her side, placing the candle on the night stand,

"You will do no such thing until you tell me what's wrong." In a quiet, timid voice, Genevieve whispered,

"I dreamt of Papa again." Mignonette sat in the bed brushing Genevieve's long golden curls out of her face.

"That means you've dreamt of him every night this week, Genevieve. Papa would want you to sleep you know." Mignonette said gently.

"I know…but I miss him so much Minnie!" Genevieve exclaimed throwing herself into Mignonette's arms and beginning to sob again. Mignonette shushed her sister soothingly and smoothed the hair on the back of her head.

"I know…I know…I miss him too." Mignonette said kissing Genevieve's head.

"I can't believe he's gone. How do you stand it Minnie? How can you be so strong?" Genevieve asked. Mignonette didn't answer at first. She gulped down a lump in her throat. Ever since their father passed away in his sleep last week, Mignonette had been thrust into the preparations of her coronation upon her twenty-first birthday in three weeks. She had become queen literally overnight. And on March 23rd it would be official. The fact that she and her sister were in mourning over their father was beside the point. Genovia needed a ruler on the throne. And as the oldest living heir, that meant Mignonette.

Mignonette wished one of her two older brothers had survived childbirth. But their mother, the Late Queen Kathleen had always been a sickly woman. The fact Mignonette was alive, strong and healthy was a miracle. But when Kathleen had Genevieve, her weak body couldn't take it. The Lord called her to his side nearly twelve years ago. Now while Genevieve herself was healthy, the doctors believed she would never have children, but it was still too soon to say. But that didn't mean the nobles of the court weren't pressuring Mignonette to marry and provide an heir. Mignonette thought she still had plenty of time when her father was alive. Gerald never pressured his girls into the idea of marriage. In fact, he encouraged ideas of them finding their true loves and marrying them. But now with Gerald dead, the fact that Mignonette wasn't ready loomed over her head. She wasn't ready to marry! She wasn't ready to have a child! And she certainly wasn't ready to be queen! She didn't even know how to rule a country; her lessons had not gotten that far.

_Oh Papa! Why did you have to die when I have no clue what to do?_ Mignonette thought to herself and biting back tears of her own. Mignonette pulled Genevieve away from her once the wave of tears were spent and said gently,

"Listen…I'm not as strong as you think. I'm going to need you the next…oh…sixty years to keep me sane!" Earning a short laugh from the girl, Mignonette went on,

"Papa loved us both very much, and he wanted us to be happy. It's okay that we're sad, but we must move on with our lives…no matter how scary it is, understand?"

"Yes…Minnie? Do you think Papa is with Mama now?" asked Genevieve.

Mignonette smiled, "I know he is. And she will take very good care of him. Now they can be together forever! And one day, long into the future, we'll be with them both again too. And hopefully, so will our husbands, and our children, and our children's children and so on and so forth until the end of time and the Renaldi line!" Mignonette said. Genevieve smiled brightly,

"Papa use to say something like that…'till the end of time and the Renaldi line…"

"Yes he did…oh Genevieve…my god you look so much like Mama." Mignonette said remembering the kind beautiful and wise woman. Genevieve smile grew even larger,

"Really?" Mignonette nodded,

"Mmm-hmm. Spitting image! Now…Mama and Papa both want you to get to sleep!" Mignonette said standing and tucking her sister in.

"Yes Minnie."

"Genevieve…remember… no matter what happens, I will always take care of you." Mignonette said.

"But who will take care of you Minnie?" asked Genevieve innocently. Mignonette ignored her sister's question and kissed her cheek saying,

"I love you."

"I love you Minnie." Genevieve said rolling on her side. Soon she fell fast asleep, her breathing heard throughout the room. Mignonette couldn't leave the room though. Genevieve's question unnerved her. She went over to the water basin and splashed her face with cool water. She looked up from her dripping face to stare at her reflection in the mirror. Could this young, fair looking girl with the porcelain skin and blue green eyes really become a queen? She ran a hair through her long brown hair and sighed. Who would take care of Mignonette when Mignonette couldn't take care of herself? Her heart longed for her husband, whoever he may be. She longed for strong comforting arms to hold her when the world got to be too much to bear. But for now, all she had was herself. The future Queen of Genovia.

* * *

The next morning, Mignonette met with her advisors, the noblemen of the court. They were all rich, powerful men wearing wigs and waistcoats, nothing but the finest. And the leader of them all was Lord Richard Chestivaldi. He owned Genovia's largest pear orchards. He was a tall skinny man of fifty, with a sharp hawk like nose and cold gray eyes. Surprisingly, the man was good with children and he had charmed Mignonette as a girl. But now as his Queen, Mignonette could see he still regarded her as a know-nothing girl, a silly child. He was currently standing before where Mignonette sat on the throne and telling her,

"Your Majesty, with all due respect, you must think of the future of your country."

"But Lord Chestivaldi isn't wishing to understand the new labor laws you all are imposing on your lands thinking of the future?" Mignonette asked. The other nobles looked nervously to Chestivaldi,

"Well…yes Milady…however that is a matter that can wait. Now we must discuss what you are doing about your need to be married." Chestivaldi told her.

"Dear Lord Chestivaldi, couldn't we wait until I meet a nice gentleman before we discuss marriage?" Mignonette asked.

"Oh Your Majesty that is terribly amusing!" Chetivaldi laughed as did the other nobles. Mignonette feigned laughter as Chestivaldi came up to the side of the throne and continued,

"Well, while that would be wonderful, there is no harm in you meeting a few potential suitors now is there?"

"Are there any in particular you have in mind?" Mignonette said with suspicion.

"Well now that you bring it up, yes. A Lord Cutler Beckett, of England. He is a prime agent of the East Indian Trading Company and would prove to be a most desirable match for our economy and our relations with Britannia.

"I see…well when shall we be expecting Lord Beckett?" asked Mignonette.

"Oh no Majesty, he is not coming here…he has far too much business in Port Royal. Actually, we thought, after the coronation, that you would sail to Jamaica yourself." Chestivaldi suggested.

"Seems a bit much and a bit soon to meet a suitor that can't even come to me!" Mignonette said.

"I know Princess, but while you are there you could also visit Genovian colonies and do some diplomacy with the English elite. I know Governor Swann of Port Royal has been begging your father to come to Port Royal for years. And now that your father can no longer go…well…" Chestivaldi said with a shrug. Mignonette hung her head at the reminder of her father. Chestivaldi gave a smug side smile to his associates as Mignonette lifted her head and said,

"Very well, I shall go to Jamaica a week after the coronation."

"Actually a merchant ship is set out to sail the day after, why doesn't Her Majesty go on that ship?" asked Chestivaldi.

"What's wrong with the royal flagship?" asked Mignonette.

"Well Milady, a merchant ship is faster and better equipped to handle the pirates that litter the Caribbean. And a royal flagship, we fear, would prove too slow and too tempting for the vile creatures." Chestivaldi told her.

"Very well then." Mignonette agreed.

"Excellent Your Majesty! And do not fear; we shall handle the affairs of state in your absence!" Chestivaldi assured her. Mignonette stood and said before leaving the room,

"Very well Gentlemen…I shall trust your judgment."

"Your Majesty." They all said bowing as she left. One of the nobles made sure she was out of earshot before saying to Chestivaldi,

"Well Richard that was easier than I thought it would be."

"What did I tell you? Now with the little upstart out of the way, we can focus on increasing our holdings. Who knows? With any luck a pirate may blow her out of the water. Which would unfortunately mean Gentlemen, that I would act as Regent until the Princess Genevieve came of age. And by the time that would happen, she could already be under our thumb so much, she would just let us act on her behalf!" Chestivaldi said dreaming of power.

"Or better still; the girl could be so overcome with grief at her sister's passing that she abdicated her throne and joins a nunnery! Making you next in line." suggested another noble.

"Yes…one can only hope…King Richard the First…that has a nice right to it!" Chestivaldi said laughing.


	7. Dead Women Tell Tales

"That creep!" exclaimed Natalie with disgust.

"Yes, I think Lord Chestivaldi was what one would call, 'A creep." Clarisse said.

"Major creep…"Monk said.

"Okay so Mignonette loses her Dad and Chestivaldi sets her up to go to the Caribbean." Stottlemeyer said restating the facts.

"And pirates were in the Caribbean." Randy said nodding his head.

"Yeah…that's good Randy." Stottlemeyer said rolling his eyes amazed at his subordinate's constant stating of the obvious.

"Apparently, Mignonette added some details after she wrote the diary the first time. Look, you can even see where she used different ink." Joe said pointing to the page.

"So what happens next Grandma?" Mia asked eager to learn more.

"Unfortunately Mia dear, we have business back in Pyrus. You need to meet with Parliament to keep them informed." Clarisse told her closing the book.

"But what about the secret?" Mia asked.

"Your Majesty, we will comb through the diary page by page and report to you anything pertaining to the mystery." Monk told her. Mia sighed and stood, tugging on her crème skirt suit jacket,

"Okay…oh! Maybe I can get the Royal librarians to gather together any information about Queen Mignonette, or that Turner couple you found or about Chestivaldi."

"An excellent idea Mia. Now come along…let us pray the press will not hound us all the way to the limo." Clarisse said standing and handing the dairy to Natalie. Mia told Adrian,

"Mr. Monk, I don't want to be left out of the loop. If you need me to ask anyone anything, you let me know."

"Of course Your Majesty. We'll return to Pyrus later tonight." Monk nodded as the Royals left the room. Mia released a big breath before they exited out the back way, avoiding the flashing cameras of paparazzi all around them. Her mind was reeling with questions. Who was Mignonette anyway? What was her secret?

* * *

"Well Monk, you were right. These Turner people both were proud to be pirates." Stottlemeyer said brushing off his slacks from where he knelt in the grass. They had went outside to the cemetery to look around further for any more clues before deciding to return to Pyrus.

"Let's check out Mignonette's grave. Maybe we'll learn something more." Adrian said. Looking once more at his tour book, Randy said holding up a finger,

"Oh! Let me…the mausoleum is…this way! It was built in 1742 when the Queen fell ill after a riding accident…wow over eighty and still riding…anyway it's made of marble and rose granite and the crypt…"

"Oh for the love of…Randy! This is a homicide investigation not a guided tour!" the Captain yelled at him. As the two policemen argued up front, Monk asked Natalie as she read the diary to herself,

"Anything interesting?"

"Not yet…mostly dictates the next three weeks, her coronation, and her first few weeks aboard the ship on the crossing. Mr. Monk? What do you think the secret is?" Natalie asked.

"I don't know…maybe Mignonette made an alliance with a band of pirates. Gave them letters of Marque…but she kept it quiet just in case all the major superpowers considered it an act of war." Monk theorized.

"What are Letters of Marque?" asked Natalie.

"Well basically it was a government giving a pirate permission to be a pirate…or the more legal term privateer. A government gives them a full pardon if the pirate attacks enemy ships and gives a percentage to the government." Monk explained.

"Yeah, that makes sense. An itsy bitty country like Genovia could be easily taken over couldn't they? I could see why Mignonette would keep that a secret." Natalie said nodding her head.

"I don't know…the way she talked about this…Captain Sparrow…it was almost as if she…" Monk started searching for the right word. As they approached the mausoleum, Natalie asked,

"What?"

"As if she knew him." Monk told her.

"Mr. Monk, we are assuming that was Capt. Sparrow's bedroom next to Mignonette's right?" asked Natalie.

"Right." Monk nodded. Natalie patted his shoulder,

"Then I think it's safe to say she probably knew him…really well!"

"Oh…" Monk said with realization as they came up on the small stone building. The Captain stepped back outside from the cool shadows and said,

"Come on Monk, you've got to see this." Adrian took one look in the darkened grave and shook his head taking a step back.

"No…"

"Oh Mr. Monk come on!" Natalie urged him.

"What are my top ten fears, huh?" Monk asked them rhetorically.

"You mean this week?" the Captain asked sarcastically.

"Darkness, spiders, cobwebs, dust, rats, decomposing corpses…" Monk said ticking off each fear on his fingers.

"Monk! Think of the reward you'll get solving this case." Stottlemeyer interrupted.

"I don't care about the money…" Monk started.

"Well you should…Monk think about it…with the money you'll get from this case you'll have unlimited resources to properly investigate Trudy's murder." Stottlemeyer told him.

"I will?" asked Monk quietly. Stottlemeyer sighed and stood before his friend,

"Also Natalie can take care of her daughter and herself better meaning she'll have more time to help you solve Trudy's murder. Monk, you have to do this…for Trudy." Monk nodded, looking down on the ground before looking back up and saying,

"For Trudy…" Stottlemeyer clapped his back,

"Atta boy…come on. Monk whispered in a timid panic and Stottlemeyer walked by his side into the mausoleum. The stone room was quiet, with only an occasional drip from moisture. More stained glass windows allowed the sunlight to shine down on a stone crypt. The lid of the crypt was shaped like a human form, a woman in skirts with a crown on her head. Randy read aloud from a book,

"In keeping with Genovian tradition, the grave of Mignonette is like that of an Egyptian sarcophagus, an effigy shaped like the form of the remains inside. Numerous symbols and cravings are also included in the statue as a testament to the life that was lived. Mignonette's markings include one of her favorite sayings, 'Till the end of time, and the Renaldi line', pears to symbolize her contribution to the pear industry, a book symbolizing her development of higher education, and a pelican for her generosity and her devotion to her country."

"What about this heart shape on her chest?" Natalie asked tapping on the craving.

"I don't know, it doesn't say." Randy said flipping through the book.

"Randy, for the love of God, forget the book and…" Stottlemeyer said taking the book and throwing it on top of the crypt. But he stopped when the book shifted the heart over a little revealing a small opening. The four companions all looked to each other and Randy asked,

"Is it supposed to do that?"

"Well…sometimes people feared being buried alive so they had small openings in their crypts so they could breathe and call for help." Monk said bending over to look at the shifted heart. The sun danced a beam of light across the hole for a second and Stottlemeyer came up to the grave saying,

"Wait…that is no hole…" He set aside the tour book and shifted the heart further back. He reached his hand in and pulled out a small octagon box made of high quality heavy wood. Seeing it opened on a hinge, The Captain opened it and said,

"It's a compass…broken though…doesn't point north."

"It must have broken over the years." Monk said looking over the Captain's shoulder to look at the compass.

"Think it has something to do with the case?" Natalie asked.

"I think so…why would someone hide a compass in Mignonette's gravestone? If it were a cherished memento, why not just put it in with the body? No…this is another clue trying to tell us Mignonette's secret." Monk said.

* * *

The drive back to Pyrus was fairly quiet for Monk and his friends. Natalie was reading the diary once more and everyone else was lost in thought over all they learned today and the murder. Monk was trying to piece all the obvious clues together. Somebody went to a lot of trouble to hide them…but they still left them behind to be found. Who could have done so and why?

"Hey guys listen to this…this is about a month after Mignonette left Genovia…'Wednesday, April 26th in the year of our Lord 1678, I wrote a letter to Genevieve today. The Captain told me he would send a carrier pigeon once this thick fog cleared up…"


	8. Pirates!

**_A/N: Another Monday, another chapter. Hope you enjoy. Our favorite three pirates make cameos! Saw Dead Man's Chest over the weekend, loved it, Jack could have had more snappy oneliners, but I loved it! Didn't even notice the two and half hours past by._**

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**_On that note, I've recently posted two new POTC fics. Check out my attempt at telling the third movie, World's End (tentative title) _**

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**_But how the heck did one dinky little oneshot with Jack and Will get 18 reviews in twenty four hours? I'm talking about 'Mr. Turner's Last Night as a Bachelor' and it only took me about an hour to write. Thanks to all who reviewed, and the rest of you check it out._**

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**_And don't forget to review this story too!_**

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**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

* * *

Mignonette sighed as she watched the thick rolls of fog waft over the breaking white caps of the sea. Two more weeks would see her in Port Royal, and from there she would travel around the Caribbean Sea to the three small colonies Genovia had established to grow olives. Her two maids insisted on her wearing gloves and a hat, keeping a parasol over her head. She didn't see why…the sun had not been out for three days. It was covered by this thick unnatural fog, the ship was just grateful they weren't dead in the water. There was a constant watch on the few feet ahead of the stern of the ship. And the captain was even more concerned about pirates.

But his Queen was on board, so he didn't voice this concern to her. Nor did he tell his crew she was the queen. Only he and her two maids knew. These precautions were done against the crew, should they be tempted to mutiny, become pirates and offer a hefty ransom for their most prominent passenger. Nowadays one didn't know who would turn pirate. He had recently heard Commodore Norrington of Port Royal had become a pirate in the short time of his decommission. But gossip was about as common as turning pirate on the seven seas today. So as far as the crew was concerned, Queen Mignonette was a wealthy merchant's daughter traveling to visit relatives in the Caribbean.

He approached the young queen and asked her,

"How are you today Milady?" Mignonette looked up at the tall, broad shouldered man of fifty with a gray wig under a blue tricorne. He had been so gracious the last month. But he still kept her at arms length as did her maids. She wished she had someone she could really talk to.

"I am well Captain…I wish I could walk about in the sunshine though." she said.

"I know Ma'am. But fresh air is still fresh air. There is nothing like a day at sea." The Captain declared taking a large breath.

"I wouldn't know Captain…the first few weeks I was seasick and resigned to my cabin. Then my maids insisted I stay indoors but for an hour a day, and the terrible rain kept following us and now this!" Mignonette laughed.

"I know Ma'am. But trust me, a life on the sea is worthwhile to those who put up with all the bumps in the road." The Captain told her.

"I'll take you're word for it Captain." Mignonette told him. He tipped his hat and returned to his command, leaving Mignonette to sigh and return her gaze to the short horizon before her. Suddenly, an orange flash burst through the haze accompanied by a distant boom. As a lowly whistle came to her ears, the Captain rushed up to her and pushed her and her maids down shouting,

"Cannon fire!"

"We're under attack!" someone yelled.

"Get the woman below and raise up the white flag! Men to the cannon deck! Steer the powder magazine away from them!" the Captain ordered pushing Mignonette and her maids to a crewman.

"All hands on deck!"

Cannon fire continued as Mignonette desperately raced below deck, dragged by her maids and the crewman. They got close to their cabin and the crewman left them to return topside. Mignonette's maids however pulled her further down one saying,

"No Your Majesty! We'll go down further below! To the cargo deck!"

"Good thinking…" Mignonette nodded following them down the ladder to the three decks below. But as Mignonette stepped off one ladder, a cannon ball burst through the deck and cut straight across, sending the part of the ladder the maids were on flying, the maids to crash to the ground below. Mignonette had ducked, screaming out in terror, when she lifted her head, she saw only one of her maids in sight, and the pool of blood around her head indicated she was dead. She looked to the ladder leading to the cargo desk and scrambled to reach it. Finally, when the crack of wood was far away, Mignonette set her feet on the deck, hearing the ship groan and the waves roar around her head. But before she could contemplate any hiding place, the ship lurched and her feet went sliding. Her arms reached out to find anything to grab a hold of, but it was all in vain as she went crashing into the ship wall. She cried out in pain before the ship bobbed again, this time sending her rolling back. Her head connected hard to a crate and as the ship settled, her world went black.

* * *

Topside, the Captain was dead, the cry for quarter ignored long ago. The small oak brig of the attacking ship was a small band of thirty, but they had more gun fire and a quicker aim. They thought the battle was won and the ship was their's but they weren't expecting that as the fog began to lift, the sunlight streaming down, the ship that was coming up fast on the starboard side. She was not a galleon, nor a brig, nor any sort of ship any had seen before. She only existed in dreams of men of sea, for she was a hybrid of various ships. But no one could tell because she was all black mahogany, with full black billowing sales. Despite her large size she was coming up fast, barreling down on the small brig and her prey, practically slicing the water like Moses did with the Red Sea. The raiding pirates paused to look at the approaching ship who was raising her colors proudly. A red flag with a black sparrow flying against a setting sun on an ocean horizon.

"It's the Pearl!" shouted one pirate in fear.

"The Black Pearl?"

"I though she was taken down to Davy Jones!" cried another.

"Ain't she still cursed by the damned?"

"No survivors! No survivors!" shouted another that was panicking.

"Abandon ship!" cried one.

"Which one?" asked another stupidly before following his cowering crewmates back aboard the brig. On the ship, the Black Pearl, a thin, beautiful young woman with long flowing sun kissed brown curls shouted up at the Captain,

"They're running!"

"Should we pursue them?" asked a handsome young youth of brown hair and light brown eyes, his beard and mustache neatly trimmed. The Captain called down from his position at the helm, in a precise Cockney,

"Just send them a few parting gifts, Savvy?"

"You heard the Cap'n you gobs! Load the cannons!" a barrel chested middle aged man with graying muttonchops yelled to the rag tag crew of forty. Soon the Pearl's guns were barreling down on the departing ship, before one cannon hit the powder magazine sending the brig into an explosion.

"Opps…guess they didn't like our gifts!" said the young woman sending the crew into a chuckle.

"Weigh anchor! Ten of you with me to search for survivors, fifteen more to unload their supplies and cargo!" the young man ordered. A gangplank was lowered and some men walked across, others swing aboard. The few remaining crew of the rampaged ship were severely injured, they were quickly ushered aboard, taking below to the galley to be tended to by the young woman and the old man with a parrot on his shoulder. The young man went below with those to find supplies. They had to send down a rope to get to the third deck, once they saw the damage. The young man grimaced at the sight of the dead woman he had to step over to get to the cargo deck. He went down there alone, finding an oil lantern and lighting it, looking around at the scattered mess. He shook his head at the sloppy job they did of securing the cargo. He started to investigate what he had. Opening a barrel, he found a fresh batch of sweet green pears. He smiled at that. Fruit was always welcome on a pirate ship, kept the crew from getting scurvy. Olives and olive oil were also aboard, which would bring a great profit on the black market. Then there were the few cases of rum (which his Captain would cherish) and some bottles of wine. The young man took out a bottle and read the label,

**Chestivaldi Vineyards; Makers of Fine Genovian Pear Wine Since 1514**

"Genovia ay?" the young man mused to himself. Suddenly a small groan made his head snap up. A hand on his finely made sword waited as he cautiously searched the cargo hold. Finally, he caught sight of a pair of legs and some skirts. He rushed to Mignonette's unconscious form and pushed aside the crate covering her petite frame. He carefully turned her over, seeing the large knot forming on her forehead. He lifted her up in his arms and rushed her to the ladder shouting to his crewmates,

"Hey! Hey! I found someone!"


	9. Castle Renaldi

**_A/N: Would have put this up yesterday like I normally do on Mondays...but F . F. Net was all screwy...Anyway, hope you enjoy...but come on! I know more than two people are reading this story! Yeah that's right...only two people reviewed chapter eight. You guys can do better than that..._**

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**_Meanwhile, I haven't been religiously following Monk as I should, but I believe the Captain is getting divorced from Karen still correct? That's what I heard and that's what I based one part of this chapter on...hope it's right._**

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**_Don't forget to enter my fanart contest! Deadline is August 14th...Come on...there has to be some talented artist wanting to paint Mignonette's portrait, the coat of arms, or Mr. Monk and Mia. Please? _**

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**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

* * *

Julie Teeger was watching TV in her and her mother's suite at the Renaldi palace. Apparently, the royal family had access to various channels and stations from around the world. She was in the middle of laughing at the antics of three Irish priests when her mother came in the room and sighed her greeting,

"Hey Sweetie."

"Hey Mom. How'd the investigation go?" Julie asked as her mother bent over to kiss her on the forehead. Natalie sighed shrugging off her jean jacket,

"Well…we have plenty of clues…" Julie's eyes then widened and she asked quietly,

"Mom…is that blood on your shirt?"

"What?" Natalie asked looking down at her fitted tee. Sure enough, a dried brown patch of blood stained Natalie's side.

"Crap…" whispered Natalie to herself before answering her daughter, "Yes…yes it is blood. You're probably going to hear about this anyway, but you can't say a word outside of this room to anyone understand?"

"Yes Mom." Julie nodded as Natalie sat beside her on the settee. Natalie began, hesitating in hopes to spare her daughter the gruesome details,

"Julie, today a man died at the seaside palace. Now Mr. Monk hopes that if we find the thieves who broke into Queen's Mia's offices…we'll find out who killed this man and why."

"You were there when he died?" Julie asked. Natalie released a shuttering breath,

"Yes I was."

"Does this mean I have to stay inside all day?" asked Julie.

"What do you mean?" Natalie asked.

"Well…whoever killed this man probably knows Mr. Monk will try to find him. Doesn't that mean Mr. Monk and whoever is helping him in danger too?" Julie asked. Natalie was stunned at her daughter's question. The reality of this case settled on her. Natalie had risked Julie's life coming here. Would her child be surprised to learn how many times Natalie had come close to having a murderer kill her during Mr. Monk's investigations? But then the thought that not having Julie close was a danger too. Anyone could take Julie in San Francisco while Natalie was in Genovia. Even Captain Stottlemeyer had taken the precaution of assigning a twenty four hour watch on his family to make sure they were safe while he was away. Natalie told her,

"That's always a possibility…but we are safe! We are surrounded by professional royal guards and security experts. I promise. Nothing is gonna happen to me, Mr. Monk, the Captain or Randy…and I will make double sure nothing happens to you! Understand?"

"I understand." Julie said giving her mom a hug. It suddenly occurred to Natalie that Mignonette had once reassured her baby sister of the same thing. And by the time Natalie had finished reading the passage where Mignonette had blacked out during the pirate attack, they had arrived at the palace and made a promise to pick it up in the morning. Natalie could only guess that the princess had felt pure terror at the thought of not seeing her sister again. She knew because pure terror would be what Natalie would feel if something happened to Julie.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Karen? It's me, Lee." the Captain said in to the phone as he rinsed off his toothbrush in the sink.

"Oh...hello Leland... How's Genovia?" his wife Karen asked coolly on the other end.

"Great…Great…you'd really like this place Karen. It's really beautiful." Stottlemeyer told her walking out of the bathroom.

"I know…my film professor at college had a château there. He used to show us his home movies. So…what's this I'm seeing on CNN about a murder at the Genovian summer palace?" Karen asked.

"Ah jeese…ya mean it's already on the news?" Captain Stottlemeyer groaned.

"Well Leland it is only one o'clock in the afternoon here. So what happened?" she asked.

"I can't talk about it…but I can tell you that only Monk will be able to solve this one." Stottlemeyer told her.

"That bad huh?"

"Karen…I don't know how I can help here. RANDY contributed more to the case than I have." he said.

"Randy?"

"Yeah he found a clue and interpreted some Latin." Stottlemeyer said.

"…He knows Latin?"

"High school Latin…" Stottlemeyer shrugged.

"Leland, you're Adrian's friend…I'm sure you've done a lot to help him…if not by just being there."

"Well I guess that's true. I did help the local police in their search of the palace and I helped Monk realize that solving this case could help him with the whole Trudy thing…And hey I did find one clue." he said.

"Well there you go then." Karen said. The Captain smiled,

"I love you, you know that?" There was a moments silence.

"We're still getting a divorce Leland." Karen said. Leland nodded accepting the harsh truth.

"I'll call tomorrow so I can talk to the boys." Captain Stottlemeyer told her.

"Okay…I'll talk to you tomorrow." She hung up leaving Leland to listen to the phone tone a while.

"Love you…bye." the Captain said before hanging up and just sitting on his bed for a while.

* * *

Adrian Monk brushed his teeth with the boiled water that the maids had brought up for him. His clothes were already unpacked and in the specific drawers just the way he liked it, again thanks to the maids. But one thing remained unpacked. Adrian finished brushing his teeth and then crossed his suite to one special suitcase. It was bright purple unlike the rest of Adrian's uniform black luggage. This was Trudy's suitcase. He unzipped the bag and lifted the lid to reveal a single pillow wrapped in plastic, perfectly preserved. This was Trudy's pillow. He carefully took the pillow out and pulled away the plastic. He brought the pillow up to his nose and breathed in the lingering smell of strawberries. Trudy's scent.

"It's beautiful here Adrian." said a soft feminine voice in Adrian's heart. Adrian looked to the window and imagined seeing his beautiful bride leaning against the French doors in her white nightgown. He spoke to the memory,

"I thought you'd like it." The blond vision smiled gently at him,

"What's wrong Adrian?"

"I'm not sure what I'm doing here Trudy. I know that if I solve this case, the money could help me solve your murder…not to mention help Natalie…but…I'm scared." He told her.

"Scared? Of what?" Trudy asked.

"Failing." he said softly. Trudy tilted her head to the side and approached Adrian. He could swear he actually feel her hands on his shoulders as her memory told him,

"Sweetheart, you are a brilliant detective. I believe in you."

"But this case…it's so confusing. I've never dealt with anything like this before." Adrian told her.

"No…but I know you can do this. Just follow your heart." Trudy said.

"Oh Trudy…" Adrian sighed leaning in to kiss her. But then reality kicked in and Trudy's vision faded away, leaving only the scent of strawberries behind.

* * *

Meanwhile, Randy received his late night snack from the butler at the door. Seeing the light green hue to the popcorn, he tentatively tried some and nodded in approval,

"Hmm…pears!"

* * *

The next morning, Monk and his associates met Mia in the Royal Library. Polished cherry wood shelves filled every wall floor to ceiling, rolling ladders the only way to go up and around. Five long cherry desks were in the room, a computer off to the side. Stacked high on the desks, were dozens and dozens of books. Adrian asked Mia in disbelief and dread,

"This is not…ALL information about Mignonette is it?"

"No…Those three tables are information about Mignonette…that one table is all about Chestivaldi…and that last table is miscellaneous info about pirates, Genovia and other Genovia nobility. The librarians said nothing about the Turners." Mia told him.

"Monk…you don't expect us to actually go through all of these books do you?" Stottlemeyer asked skeptically. Monk sighed,

"We have no choice…come on everybody." And with that resignation to their fate, they began to comb through all of the books. Page by page, cover to cover, noting anything of interest. After an hour, Mia stood from one of the Mignonette tables and stretched her legs over to Natalie at the Chestivaldi table.

"Find anything?" Mia asked the other woman.

"Not yet…Your Majesty? Why are you helping us comb through all this stuff?" Natalie asked. Mia sighed and sat down opposite Natalie,

"Because I'm tired of other people telling me the right way to do things. Besides, last night I couldn't help but think about Mignonette. She trusted too much in her advisers and she almost got killed for it. I want to be the kind of Queen who stays on top of things, who actually knows what is going on!"

"I know we haven't read much of the diary yet, but I think Mignonette learned that lesson too." Natalie told her.

"What do you mean?" asked Mia.

"Well would Mignonette be remembered as a Queen who made Genovia what it is today if she let everyone think for her?" Natalie suggested.

"That's true. Wow…pirates, princesses, secrets…sounds like something out of a Disney movie!" Mia observed.

"Or a TV show!" Natalie laughed.

"So how do you like Genovia?" Mia asked.

"Well, I'd enjoy it more if I weren't stuck in a library." Natalie told her.

"What about your daughter Julie?" asked Mia. Natalie sighed,

"The truth is your Majesty…"

"Mia…"

"Mia…"Natalie repeated feeling weird for calling a queen by her first name, "The truth is I don't have enough time to sightsee with her…and frankly I'm a little afraid to let her go anywhere by herself with a killer on the loose."

"Well I could assign a few bodyguards to her…let her look around and be safe." Mia offered.

"Thanks your…Mia…but Julie would have a lot of fun with me and not two goons shadowing her. Mia smiled with a plan forming,

"Don't be too sure…"

"Hey! I found something!" Randy called from the miscellaneous table. Everyone rushed over to his side and looked down at the book he was reading.

"Sir and Lady Turner in the flesh…so to speak!" he said holding up the book. There on the page, was a photograph of an oil painting. A tall, handsome youthful man in his mid thirties and dressed in tasteful blues and brocade stood behind his seated wife, a beautiful young woman in her early thirties. The man had shoulder length brown hair, neatly trimmed mustache and goatee, with light brown eyes. The woman was slim, with long golden brown curls piled high on her head, with light hazel eyes dressed in a light peach gown that complimented her sun kissed skin perfectly.

"Sir William and Lady Elizabeth Turner, knighted by Her Majesty Queen Mignonette on June 14th, 1679. Given the lands and holdings of…of Lord Richard Chestivaldi, who died tragically at sea when crossing to Jamaica. Chestivaldi had been thrown overboard in a storm, leaving no heirs to his vast fortune. So for valor and loyalty to the Genovian crown, Chestivaldi's lands were given to the Turners, including the vast estate of Château Dodici Quercie three miles outside of…outside of the small seaside town of Roseton." Monk read aloud.

"Roseton is the village outside of Windrose." Mia told them.

"Seems a bit too much of a coincidence that Chestivaldi died within a year of Mignonette's reign and his fortune was given to two pirates." Stottlemeyer said shaking his head. Meanwhile, a tall shadow came up to the library door and listened in as Monk said,

"I agree…we'll probably need to go to the chateau just to see if we can find out anything about the Turners. Natalie, did you bring the diary with you?" Natalie nodded walking over to the table where she had left it. She picked it up and returned saying,

"Yeah, it's right here."

"Okay, so you guys discovered Mignonette's ship was attacked and then she was rescued by the Black Pearl right?" Mia asked trying to remind herself of the story.

"Right…and we wanted to wait for you to read the next part. Natalie." Monk said indicating for her to begin. Natalie turned the pages to the right passage and began to read aloud,

"My world was foggy, my vision nothing but colors and shapeless forms. I heard voices, but none of them I knew by name, and only one, a rough, sound timber of a voice brought me any comfort and security in the dire position I was in…"


	10. Captain Jack Sparrow

**_A/N: PLEASE someone enter my fan art contest!There...I'm done._**

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**_Here's the moment you've all been waiting for. With out any further ado...CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW!_**

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**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

* * *

Mignonette awoke slowly, shifting her body trying to become comfortable, finding only a thin straw mattress and a hard wood floor, her muscles and joints aching in protest. Finally, her eyes fluttered open, taking a minute or two to register the sights around her. She was in a ship…but a different ship. The wood was black, faded only by age and use. She saw that she was in a warm galley, the wood stove bringing soothing warmth to her bones. Pots of something edible, skeptically pleasant tasting bubbled and brewed. Suddenly a bright colorful green parrot, the kind Mignonette had only seen once in storybooks, flew in the door and landed on a small table in the center of the room. He cocked his head to look his beady little black button eyes at her before squawking out,

"AWK! RED AT NIGHT! RED AT NIGHT!" Mignonette furrowed her brow at the curious comment, when a tall thin old man with a white beard and a cotton bandanna wrapped around his head walked in the doorway by her head. She tried to sit up, but she was still too weak to do so. Instead she lifted her head around to look up at him. He looked down at her only once, smiled and nodded silently before walking back out, the parrot quickly flying after him. Too confused to call the man back, Mignonette laid her head back down and tried to think about what position she was in. She remembered her name, her heritage and her purpose for being on the open sea. She remembered her sister, her late parents, and then with a start and a gasp she remembered the pirate attack. Dread filled her being when she realized that she had been kidnapped by the pirates!

Meanwhile, the man with the parrot made his way topside to the bustling deck of the Black Pearl. Crewmen pulled in fishing nets, adjusted the sails, tied down ropes, scrambled up the riggings, mended old sails and swabbed the decks. The man silently made his way to the Captain's cabin, located below the helm deck. He knocked only to hear a precise Cockney call out,

"Enter!" The man silently came in, brushing past the tattered old curtains by the door. In the room was the ship's handsome young blacksmith and second mate, Will Turner. He sat on the edge of the Captain's round desk, full of charts and maps. His wife, Elizabeth, the woman with the sun kissed brown locks was standing, her arms crossed, her expression annoyed. And sitting in a chair, his tall lithe form framed by the golden sunshine streaming from the bay windows lining the back wall was the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. He was golden tanned, with long black hair held back by a red bandanna, woven with various beads, braids and dreadlocks. His plaited beard and mustache hid a deceptively youthful, handsome face with high cheekbones. His eyes undoubted, his best feature. Deep brown framed by sailors kohl, they held deception, wisdom, cunning, adventure, freedom and secretly, a good heart. His brown Cavalier boots propped up on the table, his clothes worn and once a bright shade of blue, his white shirt now yellowed completed the picture of a perfect rogue. He closed his log book and addressed the old man with the parrot,

"Ah! Mr. Cotton! I take it by your presence that our guest has arisen from her beauty sleep?" Mr. Cotton nodded only to have Elizabeth interrupt, her voice laced with frustration,

"Three days unconscious is hardly beauty sleep, Jack." Jack's eyes shifted to glare an annoyed expression at the woman before saying cordially to Cotton,

"Mr. Cotton, see if you can get any food down her aye? Some nice warm broth perhaps?"

"WIND TO THE SAILS! WIND TO THE SAILS!" squawked the bird on Cotton's shoulder. The tall man then silently left, leaving Will to raise an eyebrow and comment to Jack,

"Think it's best for the ship's mute to tend to her? She will no doubt have some questions."

"Which Elizabeth shall answer once she is done yelling at me." Jack said picking up a chart. Hands now on hips, Elizabeth said to Jack,

"I have barely begun to yell at you! That girl was the only survivor of that pirate attack Jack! We need to lay the bodies to rest, but you won't allow it! Gibbs is a nervous wreck with all this dead aboard! Not only is it unsanitary for the crew, it is unnecessary!"

"Elizabeth, now that the girl is awake, we can begin to give those poor souls their last rites. But I wanted to make sure no husbands or fiancés or brothers or cousins of the young miss were among them. The last thing I need is a hysterical female wailing over never seeing her loved one again and not having a chance to say goodbye! Exhibit A!" Jack said indicating Elizabeth. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and muttered,

"I suppose that's reasonable" she said.

"Knew you'd see thing my way, Luv. Now, why don't you attend to the young miss hmm?" Jack said smiling smugly. Elizabeth shook her head and stomped out in a huff. Will told Jack who returned his attention to his charts,

"Aren't you curious to know who the young lady is? Surely she would want to speak to you."

"My dear William. The lady in question is injured and weak. It shall be a while before she thinks to ask for me. Besides, I've got a ship to run. Now, go out and tell Gibbs to correct our course by ten degrees, South by Southeast." Jack ordered.

"Aye aye Captain." Will sighed standing and exiting the room. Once alone, Jack lifted his eyes to the door to make sure he was gone. Then he stealthily shifted a yellowed parchment from the bottom of his maps and charts. It was a coal drawing of the young lady he had found. An amateur artist, Jack was taken with her beauty and knew he had to draw her since the moment Will had walked over the gangplank, her still form hanging limp in his arms. So for the last three nights he had relieved the silent Cotton of duty to watch over the girl and draw her still form. He even spoke to her as if she could hear him, telling her all about himself. He found it a pleasant release, safe in the knowledge she never heard a thing and his mysterious past would still be secret. And while there was attraction, Jack knew there could never be anything more. She was just a passing figure in his life, probably never seen again once they reached Tortuga. He figured that once she awoke the spell would be broken by a whiny little voice, terrified of pirates, or a spoiled temperament of the upper classes. Then all Jack would have is another collection of drawings locked away in his truck, a reminder of another appreciation of beauty. In the meantime, he could still imagine her soul to be every ounce as beautiful as she was in appearance. And that was enough for Captain Jack Sparrow.

While Jack was cleaning up his artwork, Elizabeth Turner was entering the galley, seeing Mr. Cotton ladle a bowl of hot beef broth. He smiled at her and then shifted his eyes to their patient. Elizabeth looked down to see the woman with bright blue green eyes register surprise over seeing a woman in knickers and a waistcoat. Elizabeth sat on the floor, her legs tucked under her as she asked,

"Feeling better?" Mignonette hesitated, and then spoke with a strained voice, dry with thirst,

"Yes…yes I am thank you." Elizabeth noted the educated tongue laced with a hint of French, maybe some Italian influence as well. There was also something…majestic in her tone, but Elizabeth couldn't place it. Instead she asked while taking the bowl from Mr. Cotton,

"Nothing hurts too terribly?"

"My whole body aches, but I think that's from lying on the floor too long." Mignonette answered, her growling stomach praying that bowl was for her.

"Good…here…for your strength. Think you can sit up?" Elizabeth asked.

"I may need some help if you would be so kind." Mignonette replied. Mr. Cotton instantly knelt down and put his hands under her arms, lifting her up. Her body screamed in protest as the blood started to move back in her joints, but Mignonette only released a small whimper. Soon, Mignonette was sitting up on her own, and Elizabeth took a spoonful of broth and brought it to Mignonette's lips.

"Here we go…got it?" she asked as Mignonette sipped gratefully. She sighed,

"That's wonderful! So have you any water to drink?"

"Finish the broth first and then we'll get you some grog." Elizabeth told her.

"Oh no thank you I would prefer water." Mignonette told her. Elizabeth furrowed her brow,

"There is no fresh water aboard. And the grog helps you fight off scurvy."

"What's scurvy?" asked Mignonette. Elizabeth and Mr. Cotton exchanged dubious glances.

"You don't even know what scurvy is?" asked Elizabeth.

"No…what is it?" asked Mignonette feeling rather foolish now. Elizabeth raised another spoonful to Mignonette's lips,

"Don't worry about it. Just take my word that you don't want it." Mignonette blushed terribly in embarrassment as Elizabeth continued to feed her. After a while, Mignonette took the spoon, and then the bowl as she continued to gain strength. All the while asking Elizabeth guarded questions. In the course of a half hour, Mignonette had learned that this was apparently not the ship that attacked but rather another pirate ship that rescued her. She found out the crew was dead and only she survived. She told Elizabeth she had no relations aboard when Elizabeth asked,

"So what's your name?" Mignonette hesitated. She knew by Elizabeth's manner and speech she was of noble birth. She would have heard of Mignonette Amelia Renaldi, Princess of Genovia. And Mignonette knew she could not risk them knowing her true identity. Rescuers or not, they might hold her for ransom! So she simply said,

"Minnie…what's yours?"

"Elizabeth Turner. So…what business did you have in the Caribbean?" asked Elizabeth knowing there was more to this girl than meets the eye. Mignonette thought up a lie in record time,

"I was…escorting my mistress…a merchant's daughter to Port Royal. I am one of her maids. Or at least I was…my mistress died in the attack."

"What was your mistress's name?" asked Elizabeth suspiciously. Mignonette recalled the alias the Genovian Captain had thought up for her,

"Miss Patrice St. Nickolas. Her father is Sir Clark St. Nickolas." Elizabeth nodded recalling a Sir Clark St. Nickolas in Port Royal. Genovian by birth, he now imported into the colonies the finest olives, olive oil and Genovian pears the small country had to offer. And now his daughter was dead…such a tragedy. Elizabeth was shaken from her thoughts when Mignonette asked,

"Ms. Turner? May I speak to the Captain now please? It is imperative I speak with him." Elizabeth smiled and stood to her feet saying,

"Tell you what. You practice walking about a bit with Mr. Cotton, and I'll ask the Captain if he's ready to speak with you. Okay?"

"Very well. That will be all then." Mignonette sighed waving Elizabeth away. Elizabeth frowned at that. It was not done intentionally to insult Elizabeth, but the dismissive manner spoke of someone used to giving orders, not a maid used to taking orders. Even more curious now, Elizabeth left the galley to find Jack, hoping that he could glean more from the girl.

Mr. Cotton helped Mignonette to stand, and he slowly and patiently helped her walk around the galley, not saying one word to berate her when she stumbled. Soon, she was slowly limping about the galley on her own, using the furniture for help, when Elizabeth came back in followed by Will.

"Oh good! You're walking!" Elizabeth proclaimed. Mignonette nodded,

"Yes…thanks to Mr. Cotton here." Cotton's lips smiled at that as Elizabeth said motioning to Will,

"Minnie, this is my husband, Will. He pulled you from the cargo hold."

"Then I must thank you for my life sir. You have no idea how grateful I am." Mignonette told him thinking of Genovia. Will smiled and nodded,

"Think nothing of it Miss. Now if you will permit me I can help you up to the Captain's quarters." He came forward, an arm wrapped around her shoulders to support her, and hand in hers as she said,

"Thank you Mr. Turner. You are most kind." Elizabeth followed behind the pair as they slowly made their way out the galley. The inner hall was dim, with just a few rays of sunshine lighting the way through the floorboards. As they neared the hatch and the ladder, laughter, voices and the sounds of work started to become crystal clear. Every step up was a little painful for Mignonette, but she kept silent, only squeezing Will's hand when it got to be too much. She noticed too that with each step up, the noises on decks grew quiet. The sun blinded her for a moment, but her eyes adjusted to see every eye of the motley crew upon her. She gulped down her nervousness, and kept her eyes forward on the goal of the cabin across from her. Every now and then she dipped her head in a cordial greeting as if she were back in Genovia greeting her subjects. Finally they reached the door and Will released her hand to knock. Mignonette raised her hand to smooth her hair, for the first time realizing her hair was a tangled mess.

"Enter!" called Jack from within. As Will opened the door, Mignonette thought to herself, _That voice…I know that voice…_They went inside and round the corner the curtains made. Mignonette's eyes glanced around the room, noting how it was a bedroom and an office all in one. Then her eyes caught the sight of Jack. He was standing looking out to the horizon, a compass in hand.

"Here she is Jack." Will said.

"Captain, William!" the compass snapped closed before he turned." You must call me Captain in front of guests!" When their eyes met, Mignonette was taken surprised. After a lifetime of horror stories, so far her experiences with pirates were proving them all false. A woman pirate, her kind pirate husband, and now a pirate captain she found incredibly handsome. Jack cleared his throat, putting down the compass to focus his eyes else where. _Didn't expect her to have such beautiful eyes…_he thought to himself. Focusing on the task at hand, putting on a mask of indifference, Jack raised his eyes to hers again, saying,

"Milady…welcome aboard the Black Pearl. I am Captain Jack Sparrow, at your service."

"I…I am honored Captain to be aboard a ship that treats passengers with such reverence." Mignonette told him. She tried not to shiver in delight when a crooked smile tugged up the corner of his lips as he motioned towards a chair,

"Have a seat Miss…?"

"Minnie…my name is Minnie, Captain Sparrow." Mignonette said as Will helped her to sit down. Jack immediately noticed the way her legs tucked under in a lady like fashion, betraying her cultivated breeding.

_Maid indeed…_he thought coming round to sit on the edge of the desk before her. She did not duck her head in submission, but she looked him straight in the eye, as an equal.

"So, Miss Minnie. Elizabeth tells me you did not have any close relations on that ship of yours." Jack said.

"No…as I told Mrs. Turner, I was traveling with my mistress, Patrice St. Nickolas to Port Royal to meet her father, Sir Clark." Mignonette said keeping her story straight.

"Aye we did find dozens of trunks full of fine ladies apparel on board. A little too fine to be a merchant daughter's though…" Jack suggested testing her reaction. Calmly, Mignonette replied,

"Well…Miss St. Nickolas was always a little spoiled by her father…but I shouldn't speak ill of the dead." Seeing her head bow in reverence, Jack was suspicious, but he then thought of how to trap her,

"Yes terrible tragedy about your mistress Luv. Sorry we didn't save her before it was too late…but I don't think Miss St. Nickolas will mind if we sell off her wardrobe in Tortuga for a small profit, do you?" Mignonette's eyes widened at that, but she realized maids don't have fine clothing. She would have to go without. So she replied,

"Well…it surprises me you would be so callous with one's processions…but if you will permit me to set aside some personal items for her father…than I see no problem with it." Jack scrutinized the woman before her. It was a perfectly reasonable request for a maid to make. So why did he feel as if she was pulling a fast one on him? He replied,

"Of course. However you must realize, Miss Minnie…we have no intention of going anywhere near Port Royal." This caused Mignonette to pale,

"What?"

"I can't risk my crew or myself by walking straight into the grips of pirate hunter Commodore James Norrington of His Majesty's Royal Navy. Your best bet will be to find a boat at Tortuga to take you to Port Royal…some fools do risk it after all." Jack explained.

"But…but I am expected in Port Royal!" Mignonette exclaimed. Jack shrugged,

"Not once word gets round about your ship sinking down to Davy Jones…or what's left of his Locker rather."

"But…I must get to Port Royal!" Mignonette told him.

"Sorry Luv…no can do. You'll have to settle for Tortuga." Jack said.

"Captain Sparrow! You will take me to Port Royal!" Mignonette said her tongue slipping back into command mode. Jack stared her down, slipping off the desk. He put his hands on both arms of her chair, leaning in close to her face. She backed up a bit and gulped as he said,

"Give me one good reason why Milady." She tried to appeal to his sense of decency,

"Well…I…I have a little sister…Genevieve…we…we just lost our father…I'm all she's got." Jack didn't turn his intense eyes from hers as he asked,

"Is she in Port Royal?"

"…No…" Mignonette said shaking her head. Matching the shaking of her head, Jack smiled contented with himself as he said,

"Then there's no need to go to Port Royal then." He backed away, trying to return to his chair, when Mignonette stood on shaky legs and said,

"If you shall not go to Port Royal, return me to Genovia then!" Jack stopped, turning towards her. His head cocked to the side in thought, a finger tapping to his chin.

"Genovia…Genovia…is that the teeny weenie kingdom between France and Italy about this big?" Jack said pinching his thumb and pointer finger close together. Mignonette smiled,

"What it lacks in size, Genovia makes up for in spirit." Trying not to become captivated by her smile or the way her eyes lit up talking of home, Jack laughed,

"Not a chance darlin'." Mignonette's smile faded,

"What?"

"Miss Minnie, not only is Genovia way out of our way, we'd have to cross the Spanish to get there…They're worst than the English. Sorry…" Jack told her turning to his charts. Mignonette looked to the Turners desperately,

"But…but…"

"Jack…can't you even consider…" Will started, speaking on her behalf. Jack gave him a pointed stern look,

"Mr. Turner…don't indulge her…You know the risks same as me."

"Captain Sparrow please! What of my sister?" pleaded Mignonette coming around the desk to stand before him. Jack raised both of his pointer fingers and said,

"Tell you what Luv. I've got a mate in Tortuga that has these…carrier pigeons he's trained to go all around the world…When we dock there, I'll let you send a letter to your sister telling her you're safe and on your way. Maybe you can send a letter to your Master St. Nickolas informing him of his daughter. Sorry Milady. That's all I can do for ye." Mignonette hung her head in defeat as Jack said,

"Now Will and Elizabeth can take you below to find your trunk. You're going to need a fresh dress to work in." Mignonette snapped her head up,

"Work?"

"No one gets a free ride on the Pearl, Missy. Now…dismissed." Jack smiled scooting her out with his hand. Mignonette opened her mouth to protest, when Elizabeth grabbed her arm and pulled her along saying,

"Come on Minnie. I'll help you look." Mignonette closed her mouth and set her jaw, glaring at Captain Sparrow before she let Elizabeth help her walk out. Will watched them go, but when he turned his head back to argue with Jack, he stopped seeing his Captain upending a bottle of rum down his throat. Jack finished his drink and sighed wiping his mouth on his sleeve,

"Well…managed to survive that…"

* * *

Down below in the cargo deck, Minnie pointed out to Elizabeth which trunk had belonged to one of her maids. Elizabeth was sifting though it finding a dress that wouldn't be too hot or revealing for the pirate crew, leaving Mignonette to search her trunks for her valuables. Freesias of her family, her diary, her jewelry and one traveling outfit she tucked away in a trunk. Finally, she found her father's ring. It was shaped like the Renaldi coat of arms. A ruby shield with an amethyst chevron, a gold lion holding a gold letter 'G'. The filigree made up the band, sapphires woven on one side, emeralds on the other. Now it was her ring. The ring that marked her as Queen of Genovia. She tucked it back into its pouch and draped the cord that tied it around her neck, keeping it close to her heart. She heard Jack's voice giving orders in the distance and glared up in the direction. She vowed that she would find a way to make the Black Pearl take her to Genovia. Nothing would keep her from her sister, her people or her crown. Not even the insufferable Captain Jack Sparrow.

* * *

**_A/N: Here's a few coming attractions from Mlle.Fox. Enjoy!_**

Temptation

Winifred 'Freddy' James has sworn off men and chocolate...both go straight to her thighs. Determined to lose those pesky last twenty pounds, Freddy knows that any distractions will keep her from her goal. But when she's sent by her boss at Lady Luck magazine to interview the world's most eccentric, handsome and eligible bachelor chocolatier...this can only be trouble. Can Freddy handle the temptation that is ten billion calories of magical candy factory and its equally sweet and tempting creator?


	11. Docidi Quercie

**_A/N: What's this? It's not Monday you say? I know that...but tonight is a special chapter. Tonight this chapteris a gift to all you wonderful readers. Why? To celebrate my ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY ON F . F. NET! _**

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**_Help me celebrate by reading, review and entering my fan art contest on my profile page._**

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**_I just want to thank anyone who has ever reviewed any of my stories. And special thanks goes to all my faithful readers and reviewers out there. Now that I'm working a full time job, it will be harder to update as often as I have, but I promise that the coming year will be worth the wait. I have two new CATCF fics that will soon be published, tons of POTC fics in the works, a few POTO stories and of course I will return to Lazytown and maybe even the Haunted Mansion._**

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**_So as always dear readers, _**

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**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

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**_ps...can anyone spot a hidden reference in here and tell me where it's from? I'll reply and mention you in the next update..._**

* * *

"Excuse me? Your Majesty? Oh there you are!" cried a tall, heavyset man with an elegant black beard and tasteful gray suit decorated with various medals. The group all looked up at him as he came in the library door, the spell of Mignonette's diary broken and bringing them all back to the present.

"Prime Minister Motaz! Parliament doesn't want to meet again do they?" Mia asked the man with dread. The man smiled and laughed,

"Heavens no, Majesty! Everyone has agreed talking about the situations will not solve them! Your Grandmother simply asked me if you would join us for tea?"

"Oh, yeah sure. Prime Minister, let me introduce you to everybody. This is Mr. Adrian Monk, he's heading the investigation of the murder and break-ins. This is his assistant Natalie Teeger, and Captain Leland Stottlemeyer and Lt Randy Disher of San Francisco PD. Everyone, this is Prime Minister Sergei Motaz." Mia introduced. The Prime Minister clicked his heels and gave a polite bow, saying,

"An honor to meet you all. Especially you Mr. Monk. Yesterday in Parliament Her Majesty spoke of you amiably and convinced all of us to put our trust in your capabilities."

"Well that was very nice of her...Prime Minister…but I'm just…an ordinary guy…doing his job." Monk said humbly. Then Monk noticed that the medals on the Prime Ministers Chest were not lined up evenly but scattered. While he fought off the urge to correct them, the Captain spoke up saying,

"Well speaking as Mr. Monk's superior, Prime Minister, I can tell you the San Francisco Police would be lost without him."

"Such high praise! Tell me Mr. Monk, what are your theories of the case so far?" asked Motaz folding his hands. Monk kept looking at the Prime Minister's medals,

"Oh…you know…secret societies…pirates…a lost diary…the usual, excuse me, Prime Minister…if I could just…" As Monk began unclipping the Prime Minister's medals, Motaz looked to Mia and Stottlemeyer and asked unsurely,

"What he is doing?" Stottlemeyer rubbed his eyes, feeling that familiar throbbing between them,

"I'm not sure…"

"I'm sorry, but your medals…are all uneven…let me just fix this for you…" Monk told him re-clipping them. Natalie tried to pry Monk off, laughing nervously,

"Yeah that's really nice Mr. Monk, but I think the Prime Minister had them that way for a reason!"

"But they're not even…"Monk said continuing. Motaz looked to Mia,

"Your Majesty?" Mia held up her hands to placate him,

"Just…indulge him Prime Minister…he's almost done right Mr. Monk?"

"Yeah…there we go! Perfect!" Monk said smiling and finishing. Motaz looked questioning to Mia,

"Yes well…thank you Mr. Monk."

"Your welcome." Monk said as his friends shook their heads. Desperate to change the subject, Mia asked the Prime Minister,

"Prime Minister, you're familiar with Dodici Quercie, right?"

"Oh yes Your Majesty, it is one of Genovia's finest vineyards and orchards. Very popular with our tourists." Motaz told her.

"Well it turns out Dodici Quercie has something to do with the investigation. So maybe you can escort them there and help them look for clues?" Mia asked. The Prime Minister smiled and said,

"Oh! With pleasure Your Majesty. In fact if you will permit me, I can take them there right now!"

"That would be wonderful, thank you Prime Minister." Mia smiled nodding to the others. Escorting her out, Motaz said,

"And now let me escort you to your grandmother and your quests for tea and to make my apologies. I will return shortly Gentlemen, Ms. Teeger."

"Guests? What guests?" asked Mia. Motaz hesitated,

"The Von Trokens Majesty…"

"What? Those snobs! Prime Minister, did you agree to take Mr. Monk to the château knowing you'd be throwing me to those wolves?" Mia asked him with mock annoyance. Motaz shrugged,

"Can you blame me, Majesty?" Mia shook her head and waved to the group of Americans,

"Bye guys! Have fun storming the castle!" Natalie, Randy and the Captain laughed, but Monk shook his head saying meekly,

"I don't get it…"

* * *

Chateau Dodici Quercie lay in the center of a thousand acres of a pear grove. The lush fruit were growing under the warm European sunshine as the Prime Minister's limo drove up the long driveway to the stone villa covered in ivy in the distance. Motaz said pointing to the grove,

"The pears are grown in this vineyard. Then sent to the family vineyard on the other side of the estate. They also have olive groves down south."

"Wow...property that far apart must mean the Turners were some of the wealthiest people in Genovia." Captain Stottlemeyer reasoned.

"Oh indeed. The Turner family themselves immigrated to America fifty years ago to escape the war, but they still return to the family estate for the social season. They helped Genovian goods stay in America and today they run a large shipping and import corporation stateside." Prime Minister Motaz explained.

"Will they come to Genovia soon?" asked Natalie.

"No...the social season does not start for two more months. Not until we celebrate our Genovian Independence Day." Motaz said as the limo pulled to a stop before the front. Hundred of tourists were piling in and out of the large front doors of the estate house, taking pictures and walking the front English style rose garden. Stepping out of the passenger side of the vehicle, Monk survived his surroundings when he caught the eye of a tall man with snow white hair, of about fifty years old with cold blue eyes. He approached the limo as the Prime Minister stepped out saying,

"Welcome Prime Minister Motaz! What brings you to Dodici Quercie this early in the year?" Motaz shook the man's hands and said with a sigh,

"Nothing good unfortunately. You have heard of the recent murder at Windrose yes?" The man nodded his head,

"Oh yes dreadful. Have they caught the killer yet?"

"That is the nature of our visit actually. Chester Richard may I present M. Adrian Monk, the detective in charge of the investigation." Motaz said gesturing to Monk. Monk shook the man's hand and accepted the wipe from Natalie as Motaz continued to introduce the group. He looked Richard up and down, but he couldn't help but shake the feeling something was off about the nobleman in charge of the estate. Before he could voice any opinion, Monk heard Richard offer cordially,

"Well Mr. Monk would you like to tour the house? Learn some more about the first Lord and Lady Turner?" Monk nodded,

"Sure..." Then he and his friends followed the man inside, seeing the opulent double staircase in the foyer. The crystal chandelier ahead sparkled in the afternoon light as M. Richard showed them the rooms. Once again armed with his tour guide book, Randy read,

" 'Dodici Quercie was for centuries the home of the Chestivaldi family. But when Lord Richard Chestivaldi tragically died in 1678 at sea without any legitimate heirs, The Virgin Queen Mignonette gave his properties and holdings to newly knighted Lord William Turner and his wife Elizabeth. As it turns out, Lord Turner was anything but of noble birth. Orphaned at a young age, he was actually an English blacksmith in Port Royal in the Caribbean. While in Port Royal, he helped rescue Elizabeth Swann, the English Governor's daughter from pirates. The two fell in love and married over a year later. Will joined a merchant ship serving as blacksmith when it staged the rescue of Mignonette from the clutches of evil pirates..."

"Well we know that part isn't true!" Natalie interrupted as they walked down a vast carpeted hallway.

"Elizabeth was Governor's Swann's daughter?" asked Monk.

Randy continued holding up a finger,

"Wait...wait...'And for his loyalty and bravery, Mignonette rewarded Turner with Chestivaldi's wealth and title, and he and Elizabeth pledged loyalty to Genovia and settled here till their consecutive deaths in 1743 and 1745. Lord and Lady Turner were apparently such good friends with the Queen, they were buried in the Royal Cemetary at Windrose palace within feet of the queen's remains.' Wow...guess it pays to suck up to the boss huh?" Stottlemeyer said dryly as he passed Randy,

"Now where did you get that idea Lt. Disher?" M. Richard led them into a vast study, where staring down at them behind the desk were the Turners. Or rather, their painting stared them down.

"Well there you are Mr. Monk. Is this visit helping your case yet?" Motaz asked. Adrian shook his head,

"No...nothing here at the estate seems to pop out at me. Not like Windrose." Then the Prime Minister's pager went off and he looked at it saying,

"Oh, will you excuse me a moment please? Official business. M. Richard, can you lead me to a phone?"

"The phone in here isn't working Prime Minister. But I can let you use the one in my office. We'll return shortly Messieurs." Richard said showing Motaz out. Monk sighed and looked around the room as Stottlemeyer said,

"Well this was a bust. We probably should have just read Randy's book and saved us the trouble."

"I know...I was so sure this place would have as many clues out in the open as Windrose did. Maybe I was wrong." Monk said.

"Oh come on guys! This is a big house. There has to be something here!" Natalie said.

"Like what Natalie?" asked Randy. Natalie shook her head and shrugged,

"Like..." Then she stopped short seeing something in the paintings of the Turners. Over Will's left shoulder was an open window, and out the open window was a sea horizon. And on the horizon was a black ship with black sails. Natalie smiled and pointed to the painting,

"Like that!" Randy looked on in confusion,

"The painting?"

"No the Persian Rug...Of course I mean the painting!" Natalie said as Monk caught on and saw the ship too.

"Of course, "he grinned getting closer to the painting. "If a secret was behind Mignonette's portrait, why not have one behind the Turners?" He took out his handkerchief and ran his fingers along the edges again. No hinge. He lifted up the painting and only saw the blank wall and the wire hook the painting hung from. No hidden door. No secret safe like in the old movies. Nothing. Monk visibly slumped as Randy said,

"There's nothing there."

"We're not blind!" Natalie sighed frustrated that she had been wrong. Monk was about to set the painting back, when he heard something shift. He looked to the canvas itself and saw the corner of something square trying to pull through the material. He smiled and said,

"Captain." The Captain looked and smirked,

"Well I'll be...here." He pulled out his pocket knife and ran the blade along the edge of the canvas. That's when M. Richard and the Prime Minister returned and M. Richard gasped,

"What the devil are you doing?"

"Don't worry...there are two layers of canvas...we're only cutting the backing." Monk reassured them. Finally, something heavy slipped out of the canvas and landed on Captain Stottlemeyer's foot.

"Ouch!" he cried hopping on one foot and holding his injured one. As everyone rushed to help the Captain, Monk bent over and picked up what appeared to be a thick leather bound journal. He turned it over, only to have his eyes go wide seeing the infamous crest once more.

"I think I broke my toe!" shouted the Captain as Monk read the first page quietly,

"_On this day June 15th. 1679, we the crew of the pirate ship the Black Pearl officially pledge our lives, friendship and loyalty to Genovia and its Queen, Mignonette Amelia. Our duties shall include but not limited to the protection of our Queen, patrolling the shores of Genovia against invading forces, insuring fair and reasonable trade, acting on the Queen's behalf as a secret police, and above all guard the one secret that shall never be directly put into written words. From this day forth we are the Brotherhood of the Black Pearl and this journal shall serve as our guide and as our testament to our lives of servitude to the Kingdom of Genovia. _

_Signed, _

_Lord William Nathanial Turner the Second, _

_Quartermaster for the Brotherhood of the Black Pearl." _

Thrity minutes later, the Captain was still inside being treated for his toe. Natalie and Monk waited for him and Randy outside by the limo. Monk was excitingly pouring over the contents of the journal, giddy as a schoolgirl.

"Wow...this...this is incredible..." he gushed.

"I've heard..."Natalie said dryly.

"It never says what the secret was, or embellish on Mignonette's diary, but it describes all kind of secret handshakes, symbols and codes...it's incredible...simply..." Monk said.

"INCREDIBLE!" groaned Natalie in frustration. Monk held up the journal to show her a page,

"I know...according to this journal, every new member of the brotherhood learns a secret verse after they have proved their ability to keep a secret after five years...But they are never told what the verse means...According to Will Turner..._'The truth of the secret shall go with the founders of the Brotherhood to the grave, for it is the grave where the secret lies...'_ ...Spooky..." Monk reading a little aloud.

"Wow...maybe we should go ahead and read some more of the diary...see what the crew of the Black Pearl was like, you know?" Natalie said reaching in her tote bag to pull out the diary.

"Good idea...because the crew of the Pearl became the Brotherhood..." said Monk.

"I get that Mr. Monk..." said Natalie as she opened to the right page.

'_Suffice it to say, my first day of manual labor ever...was not what I expected..." _


	12. The Black Pearl

**_A/N: Come on people! You love this story right? Review and tell me! Or else...I just may not update so quickly anymore...I am only one chapter ahead now you know...hmm?_**

**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

* * *

Mignonette gasped as a large splash lapped up on desk, soaking her to the bone. She shook her head, trying to get the hair out of her face, as two of Captain Sparrow's men, one short, greasy, bald and fat, the other tall, skinny, resembling a scarecrow with a wooden eye burst out laughing from where they stood pulling in sails. Suddenly the quartermaster, Mr. Gibbs yelled at them,

"Pintel! Ragetti! Back to work, you lazy dogs!" The men jumped and continued their duties, as the barrel chested old Scotsman with graying muttonchops asked Mignonette,

"Ye alright lass?" Mignonette cast her gaze to the deck she was being forced to scrub once more.

"Yes...yes I'm fine...thank you Mr. Gibbs."

"Welcome lass. Missed a spot." Gibbs told her pointing to the deck before walking away. Mignonette sighed dryly as she told herself the deck was just going to get wet again by the waves, so why bother scrubbing the decks at all? She put her scrub brush back in her bucket and then took it to the deck, her hands aching, her lower back screaming in pain. Her fair skin was roasting in this Caribbean sun. And now the indignity of having a wet dress that clung to her figure around these scalawags. It was totally humiliating.

But her greatest frustration and concern was Captain Jack Sparrow. All day he watched her from his post at the helm out the corner of his eye. And his face was nothing but suspicion. It forced Mignonette to stay silent about her complaints. For no maid would shirk at hard work.

And while Captain Sparrow was suspicious, he was also a little turned on. So far the beautiful subject of his sketches had proved him wrong about herself. And Jack Sparrow was never wrong. And the way she looked in that soaked dress right now was causing him to tense up and grip the helm a bit tighter than normal. As he began to wonder if she had ever been kissed before, Will came up to the quarterdeck and asked Jack,

"Do we have a heading today Captain?" Pulling out his compass, Jack turned his mind back to business as he said,

"Well let's have a look see..." But to his wonder, the compass needle spun around once and pointed straight to Mignonette. Uh oh...not good...

"Um..."Jack started as the needle followed Mignonette on the deck as she stood on shaky legs and practically fell on her way over to the railing to fetch some more water for her bucket.

"Jack?" asked Will concerned. Jack snapped his compass shut and said pointing out to the sea,

"South by Southwest, Mr. Turner...ten degrees..." Will furrowed his brow,

"That takes us straight to Tortuga...I thought you didn't want us to go there just yet...but sack a few more ships?" Jack searched for an answer, then found one,

"Aye...but I changed my mind. Sides...Don't want our new crew member whining about sending her note off to her sister ay?" Will shrugged and walked off,

"If you say so Jack...I'll tell the crew."

"Good lad!" Jack exclaimed cheerfully. Then his expression dropped as he watched Mignonette again, fingering his compass with consideration across his brow.

* * *

That night, Mignonette tossed and turned in her hammock. Visions of a boy with large brown eyes and shaggy brown hair invaded her dreams. She saw him with a man, a sailor by the looks of things. The boy sat on the man's knee as he weaved elaborate yarns about the sea, waving his bejeweled hands about wildly. The boy had a look of complete awe.

A flash of a dark haired beauty and the scene shifted to a dark and stormy night. The boy was before the fire, lying on his stomach and drawing with charcoal. He was a wonderful artist. He drew the sea and of a great ship with black sails. The beauty, a woman obviously the boy's mother, was doing her chores when the father burst in, strapping on his baldric.

"_I've just received word...we must sail tonight..." _he said.

"_When will you be back?" _asked the woman in fear. The man paused and whispered,

"_I may not be..." _The boy lifted up his head and asked,

"_Da?" _The man walked over to stand before his son who sat on the floor with his legs tucked under him.

"_Now you be a good lad Jack...Don't sass your mother..." _

"_Will you bring me back a present?" _the boy asked eagerly. The man chuckled,

"_You have the greed of a pirate Jack..don't ever let it get the best of ye, Savvy?" _

"_Savvy."

* * *

_

Mignonette woke with a start as her hammock dumped her unceremoniously onto the floor on the crew's quarters. She look under the makeshift curtain that gave her privacy from the men, seeing several pairs of feet run by. She heard the ship's bell going off in the distance. The Pearl was lurching and rocking greatly. Groaning from the howling wind outside. Gibbs ran back into the quarters yelling,

"Come on you gits! Move it! The Pearl needs to make it through!"

"Mr. Gibbs! What's happening?" asked Mignonette.

"All hands on deck lass! We've run into a storm! Mighty strong too...we need every hand we got to get her through."Gibbs said hauling her to her feet. She followed him saying,

"But I know nothing of sailing!"

"Well then! Ain't no better time to learn is there?" asked Gibbs with a gleam in his eye as Mignonette gulped audibly. Immediately she became soaked as the waved crashed upon the decks and the rain beat down into her face. Gibbs helped her over to the sail where she began pulling with a lot of sailors trying to let out the sails. As Gibbs tied down some rope, he ordered Mignonette,

"Minnie! Go over to the starboard side and secure the lifeboats!"

"I don't know how!" she yelled over the roar of the storm.

"Just pretend you're lacing up a corset!" Gibbs yelled. Mignonette nodded, knowing she at least knew how to do that. She began to fight to get to the other side. She kept dropping to the deck, rocking back , two steps than from where she started. Then the Pearl pitched sharply and she flew across the deck threatening to fall overboard. She crashed into the mizzen mast, clutching at it with her life. Suddenly a pair of callous hands grabbed her arms and pulled her to her feet. She snapped her eyes open shocked to find herself staring into the wild and intense brown orbs of Captain Sparrow. Then she felt his hands wrap themselves around his waist. In instinct she leaned in, parting her lips in want. He surprised her by pulling tightly on the securing line he had tied around her waist.

"Never fight a storm without a rope around ye, Savvy?" he told her over the waves. She nodded meekly, very confused at the concern in his eyes. Then the ship pitched again, sending them both back up against the mizzen, Jack raising a hand to steady himself. His other hand held onto her waist, and before they knew it, they were closer than ever. Jack could no longer hear the storm nor see it. He just kept his focus on those dazzling eyes of hers. Her hair was wet and blowing behind her from the wind, her cheeks were rosy red, a rather tempting image indeed. Mignonette felt her heart racing and it was not merely from the storm. Even dripping wet he smelled musky and like heaven. Their lips were so close to touching.

"Cap'n! Should we drop canvas?" called Pintel. Snapping out of the spell, Jack released her saying softly,

"Later..." He then stomped off shouting out orders as Mignonette collected herself before dragging herself to the lifeboats yet to be latched down. What did he mean when he said, 'Later'?

A few hours later they broke free of the storm, riding into the warm sunlight of early morning. Mignonette practically collapsed on the deck from exhaustion. Every muscle in her body ached and she knew she pulled something. Jack caught his breath addressing the crew,

"Nice job mates...Round of rum on me when we reach..."

"LAND AHOY!" called up the watch having just returned to the crow's nest. The crew looked at the approaching horizon and began to cheer. Mignonette pulled herself up to see what all the fuss was about. There was a stretch of green land before them as they sailed into a round, crescent bay.

"Tortuga..."muttered Jack happily as he stood by Mignonette's side.

* * *

**_A/N: Coming Soon to F . F . Net_**

_**Phangirl**_

_**Erik has made a mask that truly hides his face from the outside world and makes him look like any other man. Finally free of his days as the Phantom of the Opera, he moves out to the countryside of France and buys a vast estate hoping for peace at last, still a mistrustful, solitary man. But that all changes the day he (literally) bumps into Mlle. Chantal Petain. A shy, quite but beautiful bookworm, Chantal is shunned by all the other girls in the small village for her meek ways. Which is what draws Erik to her to seek a friendship. But soon, that friendship turns to love and Erik finds himself struggling to tell her so. Then...she drops a bombshell on him. She tells Erik of her greatest fantasy. To have the Phantom of the Opera fall in love with her. Too stunned to speak, Erik listens as how she explains to him that since the famous disaster, young woman all around France's countryside have formed a small community called, 'Phan-girls'. They all share a great love of the scandalous and romantic story they read in the papers and dream of the Phantom taking them underground to his kingdom of music. And if it couldn't get any worst, some young men in the town discover Chantal's secret longing and make a wager with a snobbish newcomer to see that if he can bed her while posing as the Opera Ghost himself. When Erik discovers this, he now finds himself in the role of 'handsome fop' with a true villain casting a dangerous spell over Chantal. Can Erik reveal his past, his love and his true face to Chantal before it's too late?**_


	13. Roseton

**_A/N: Okay yall, this is it. This is my last completed chapter for a while. If you want me to get inspired and write more, you're going to have to do better than one or two stinking reviews for the chapter, Savvy? And please, please somebody enter my fanart contest, huh? Pretty please! And don't forget to check out all my other stories on here, k? And here we go._**

**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

* * *

The small village of Roseton was charming brownstones and 17th century stone cottages. The houses and buildings were painted in all different colors of the rainbow. Flowers bloomed making Eden jealous. Julie Teeger thought it was right out of a storybook. She turned to her babysitter/new girlfriend Lily Moscovich, a short Lebanese woman in her twenties with died blond hair and rocker chick chic clothing that Avril Lavene would borrow.

"So are you really Queen Mia's best friend?" Julie asked shifting her shopping bags in her arms..

"Since kindergarten!" Lily nodded. "I've been her sidekick way before the tiara. I knew her when she was a big frizz-ball of hair and a four eyed nerd with a retainer! I knew her when she barfed in debate class..I..."

"Okay! Okay...we get it...you're close!" Julie laughed. A few feet behind them, a curvy brunette with her hair pulled up at the side in yellow butterfly clips, black pantsuit, a 54 magnum tucked into her shoulder holster followed behind, her eyes shaded in dark glasses. In a light Southern drawl, she said to the girls as she walked behind them in her stiletto heels,

"Keep it moving Ladies...we're due back at HQ at thirteen-hundred hours."

"Okay, Smithy? First of all...HQ is in front of Roseton city hall where we said we'd meet Ms. Teeger, second, say two o'clock!" Lily told her sarcastically.

"Well 'scuse me for doin' my dang job!" the woman said walking ahead.

"What's her deal?" asked Julie.

"Who? Smithy? Well she used to work for the President...and when Mia got the royalty gig, he sent her one of his best secret service peeps as a gesture of goodwill aka sucking up...Anywho Smithy's got the whole, Dirty Harriet thing going on...why Mia always pairs her up with me is a mystery!" Lily said as Julie laughed.

* * *

"Yes Quartermaster...I understand...Yes...I see Mr. Monk now...He will be no threat to me...Merci." said a tall young man with black curly hair as he hung up his cell phone and looked around the corner of a building to see the group of four waiting outside Roseton city hall. Randy and Stottlemeyer were siting on the front steps, pouring over the diary together, while Monk was pacing and absorbed in the Brotherhood journal. Natalie sighed in boredom, 

"Doesn't anyone want to read out loud?"

"Hmm?" chorused the three men.

"Oh sorry Natalie...it's just...this is the kind of stuff little boys dream of when they're growing up. Adventure...being pirates...sword fights...cannons..." Stottlemeyer said to her.

"The parrots!" Randy added. As everyone but Monk looked at him strangely, Randy explained, "I wanted a parrot when I was a kid." Focused on the mystery, Monk pointed out a page in the journal,

"Look...look at this! There's a list in here of the Black Pearl's original crew! The founding fathers of the Brotherhood! Will Turner...Joshamee Gibbs, Pintel, Ragetti, Marty the Dwarf, Cotton...Mr. Cotton's parrot?"

"His parrot?" asked Natalie scrunching her nose up at the page.

"Told ya!" Randy said and Stottlemeyer slapped a hand over his eyes. But Adrian didn't pay any attention to the previous comment. He smiled knowingly and walked off to the side a bit looking at the page. He closed the book shut and held his arms out, smiling up at the heavens.

"Uh...Mr. Monk? What are you doing?" asked Natalie. Monk turned, his grin still plastered on,

"I've solved the case."

"What? Who did it?" Stottlemeyer demanded standing up with Randy's help.

"What's the secret?" asked Randy.

"Here's what happened..."Monk started. But before he could begin, a young man with curly black hair grabbed the book from Mr. Monk's hand and took off running. "Hey!" Adrian yelled as he and Randy started to chase after him."He's got the journal!" he finished. The youth was fast as lightning. He was about to shake his pursuers when he made the tragic mistake of looking back. He never saw Agent Smithy tackle into his side out of nowhere only to splash both on them in a large fountain. Lily and Julie caught up to the fountain just as Randy and Monk arrived on the scene. Randy immediately dived in after the journal and pulled it out, just as Smithy twisted the thief's arms behind his back.

"AH!" cried the youth in pain.

"Well that's what you get for runnin'!" Smithy told him before saying dryly to the Lieutenant as he wadded out, "Nah really, I've got 'em! I'm fine!"

"Is the journal alright?" Monk asked in a panic as Randy flipped open the cover to inspect the journal.

"Is the journal alright?" asked Stottlemeyer and Natalie at once the second they caught up, the Captain limping all the way. Then the limo pulled up behind them, and Prime Minister Motaz climbed out saying,

"Of course it is alright...the Brotherhood was created by pirates...they waterproofed all important documents."

"He's the guy!" Monk said pointing a finger at Motaz.

"He's the guy?" Natalie asked.

"Who's the guy?" asked Lily.

"The murderer and the thief from Windrose!" Monk said as Julie gasped.

"I'm not the guy!" protested the Prime Minister shaking his head.

"Oh when Monk says 'He's the guy', you can bet good money he right!" the Captain said.

"Then isn't he entitled to place his wager on the wrong horse? Mr. Monk please...I had nothing to do with my Brother's death." Motaz said.

"Brother?" asked Julie.

"What's going on?" asked Lily.

"The murderer knew the secret the brotherhood was trying to protect. Isn't that right Prime Minister Motaz? Decedent...of...Salvador Motaz...gunner mate on the Black Pearl?" Monk asked turning to the page. Motaz sighed,

"Mr. Monk...if you will allow me...I will tell you all you want to know about the Black Pearl, the Brotherhood and myself."

"And why should we believe you?" Natalie asked.

"Because I see now that we need to work together to bring the true killer to justice...to protect the treasure and secret of Captain Jack Sparrow and the Pirate Queen." Motaz said.

"Treasure?" Monk asked his interest peaked. Smithy looked around at everyone and asked,

"Uh...does this mean I don't get to turn this creep's insides out?"

* * *

Soon they were driving back to Castle Renaldi, everyone settled in the backseat of the limo as Motaz began to explain. 

"It's true. I am of the Brotherhood of the Black Pearl. I am in fact, the Quartermaster, the leader. I was recruited because of my ancestry, but anyone worthy and wishing to serve the crown of Genovia may join. And yes before you ask, I did send Guttiseppi to an early grave, but such was not my intention. I sent him there, because when the first break in at the royal palace occurred, the Brotherhood suspected someone was trying to find Captain Sparrow's lost guest room. When the break in at the embassy happened, our fears were confirmed. I sent Guttiseppi to keep an eye on you, make sure you didn't discover the room...when the culprit had the audacity to come and kill him."

"If you guys are so secretive, why did Guttiseppi tell Mr. Monk about the Pirate Queen and give him his pin?" Natalie asked.

"The Brotherhood always knew that one day...only a man as clever as Captain Sparrow would come along and figure out our secrets. It is a sacred principle that we would tell such a man our secrets. I hesitated in deciding, but Guttiseppi knew. You are that man Mr. Monk." The Prime Minister said.

"What is that coat of arms anyway?" Stottlemeyer asked. The Prime Minister responded taking off his own enamel pin from under his lapel,

"The sparrow in flight was a tattoo Captain Sparrow had on his arm as well as his pirate flag. The ship is of course the Black Pearl...and Captain Sparrow always went for the horizon line when seeking fame and fortune."

"And the lion and the pear?" Monk asked knowing the answer.

"Symbols of Genovian royalty." Motaz said.

"Were Captain Sparrow and Mignonette in love?" Natalie asked. Motaz nodded,

"They were...at least once...Mignonette built Windrose for her pirate lover."

"Don't you know for sure?" asked Randy.

"The secret...the true secret remains a mystery...even to the Brotherhood today. We only assume the secret was Captain Sparrow was Mignonette's lover and secret business partner. Such a secret brings down kingdoms." Motaz said.

"What about this secret verse every brother is suppose to learn after five years?" Monk asked pointing to the page. Motaz sighed,

"Unfortunately...when the last founding father...or mother in this case...Elizabeth Turner died...The Brotherhood Verse was lost...before she could tell the new Quartermaster where the Verse was."

"You're not the guy are you?" Monk asked.

"I'm not the guy." Motaz said.

"You were wrong Mr. Monk?" Julie asked.

"Had to happen eventually..."Monk sighed.

"Wow...this is tripped up! Secret societies...political plots...long lost love affairs...Man I wish I wasn't the Queen's best friend! This would so make a killer story!" Lily cried.

"So what do you know about how Mignonette and Sparrow got together?" Stottlemeyer asked ignoring the young reporter's rant. Motaz began to tell them,

"The Brotherhood does know a great deal about what happened to cause the great love of their Captain. If I recall correctly, it all began...in Tortuga."

* * *

_A/N: This is a preview for a work in progress coming soon to F .F . Net. I always wanted to do a Norrington/OC fic and then inspriation struck gold! Inspriation based on my favorite old sitcom._

_The Governess_

_Before a Nanny from Queens named Miss Fine scratched her spiked heels on Mr. Sheffield's Park Ave. floor, a pirate governess from Cheapside, London named Fanny Sparrow raided the life of Port Royal Commodore James Norrington and his three precocious wards._


	14. Tortuga

**_A/N: Well well well...a day late but trust me...so well worth it! And so many reviewed! Now you want to keep this story going right? Especially after what will happen in this chapter? Review review review!_**

**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

**_ps...what the heck?...Where's my little line that I can put in the page break?...Oh webmasters!_**

Mignonette watched with wonder as she looked over the pirate town from the deck of the Black Pearl. Even in the late afternoon, joyous music of pan pipes and an accordion wafted over the air along with the smell of rum. Loud, raucous laughter was heard on the wind along with the occasional gunshot which made Mignonette jump. As she settled her nerves, Jack stood by the lowered gangplank and said to Gibbs,

"Now Gibbs, I don't want a repeat of last time Savvy? Just get the supplies FIRST then you can go into town, Savvy?"

"Aye Cap'n. What are you going to do?" asked Gibbs.

"What I said I'd do. Miss Minnie and I are going ashore." Jack said looking towards the woman. Feeling his eyes and hearing her name, Mignonette looked at him and said,

"What was that Captain Sparrow?"

"Well you want to send that letter off to your sister don't you? Come on. Step lively!" Jack said going down the gangplank. Mignonette came up to the end of the gangplank and look down the narrow piece of wood unsure, when Gibbs offered his hand and smiled kindly,

"Allow me Milady!"

Mignonette took his rough, grubby hand and smiled at him,

"Thank you Mr. Gibbs."

Helping her step up, Gibbs replied,

"Any day I can help a pretty lass is a good day for me!"

Hearing Mignonette's soft laugh, Jack felt his stomach do a flip flop. For some reason he knew not, a flare of jealously sprung up on him and he stomped back up the gangplank. He offered Mignonette his hand,

"Come on Luv. It's a bit tricky to get up and down one of these things."

Trying not to think of how well her hand fit in his, nor how his stomping on the gangplank had nearly caused her to fall over before, Mignonette nodded and quietly let him help her down to the wooden dock below. There was but one step down from the top of the gangplank and when Jack hopped down, he took Mignonette by the waist and lifted her up a bit to set her feet on solid footing once more.

"There you go..." he said trailing off when he caught himself looking into those sweet eyes of hers.

"Thank you Captain." Mignonette said softly and fighting off the blush that was creeping up on her. Jack cleared his throat and let go of her waist saying,

"Well let's scurry. Can't keep Ol' Bernie waiting."

"Bernie? Who is this Bernie?" Mignonette asked as she walked beside him, ever so often edging closer the more and more they walked by drunk, fighting pirates or seducing dirty Tortugan wenches.

"Sort of a inventor if you will...weapons manufacturer for the right price. Has any number of hobbies including training pigeons to send off messages. If anyone can get that letter off to your sister, Bernie can...Well not really Bernie personally, one of his birds...in reality." Jack finished explaining with a furrowed brow. Mignonette couldn't help but giggle at the imagery he had created, and Jack couldn't help but feel a swell of pride over the fact he had made her laugh. Soon they came to a run down old shack on the outer skirts of town. Jack pulled on a rope cord and Mignonette jumped as a loud bell clang somewhere from within the house. Jack just remained stoic and calm, completely use to such things.

"Coming! Coming!" called the old cracked voice of a man. The door opened to reveal a short, bent over and wrinkled old man with sparse white hair and bird poop on his blue coat. His bifocal spectacles made his eyes look large and his cheerful expression dropped to a dry one as he said seeing Jack,

"Oh it's you."

Jack smiled with a smug expression,

"Bernie mate it's great to see you too! How you've been? How's the family?"

"How many times do I have to tell you it's Bernard you git?" the old man said.

"At least once more Bernie...As always." Jack quipped as Mignonette rolled her eyes. Then Bernard noticed her and smiled,

"Well...who's this pretty young thing? Doesn't look like a streetwalker..."

Responding to Mignonette's look of offense, Jack pushed her forward and said,

"That's cause she's a maid by profession. Bernard Crane, may I present Miss Minnie...Minnie...come to think of it Luv, I don't recall your last name..."

"Uh...Chestivaldi...It's very nice to meet you Mr. Crane." Mignonette replied lifting her hand for Bernard. The old man smiled with missing teeth,

"Well...I have to give you credit Jack...This lovely young lady is certainly classier than all the others you've had tagging along on your arm."

Looking up suspiciously at Jack's panicking face, Mignonette said,

"Others?"

Jack grinned as he pushed his way into the door,

"Simply business Luv...simply business..."

Bernard rolled his eyes and closed the door after showing Mignonette in.

"Well suffice it to say, you'd best keep doing business with girls like this." Bernard commented.

"Not that kind of business Bernie! Miss Minnie simply needs you to send a few letters off to her sister in Genovia and to her master in Port Royal, Savvy?" Jack explained.

"Genovia! My my, what a long way from home! How are you holding up my dear?" Bernard asked. Mignonette smiled and patted his hand,

"I'm doing just fine Mr. Crane. Thank you for asking."

His stomach flip flopping and his jealously flaring up again, Jack stepped between them and said,

"Bernie! The birds?"

"Oh weigh anchor Sparrow! It's been a long time since I had such pleasurable company. Would you like to see some of my inventions my dear?" Bernard asked Mignonette.

"That sounds fascinating!"

Jack sighed and watched as Bernard pulled Mignonette around his shop pointing out various gadgets,

"There's my electric peanut smasher...music recorder...and I'm particularly proud of this one..." He stopped before a blank canvas on an easel and picked up a match. He stuck it and lit it, and then look it to the canvas. It blazed to life and burned away a chemical on the painting revealing the still life of fruit on a table. Grinning from ear to ear with pride, Bernard told a slack jawed Mignonette,

"Invisible paint!"

Jack cut in,

"Yes yes yes...very interesting Bernie...now if you please...the birds?"

"Fine...fine!" Bernard sighed leading them back through a back door. The back yard was full of wooden and iron cages filled with pigeons cooing and molting. Bernard reached inside a crate labeled 'Genovia' and took out a small pigeon.

"Here you are my girl...go on you can take him...he's loves to be held be beautiful women! Just tie your letter securing to his leg at your discretion." Bernard said handing her the bird. Mignonette laughed as the bird flapped his wings and she stepped a few feet away, leaving Jack and Bernard a moment alone. Bernard looked to Mignonette, then he looked to Jack, seeing the pirate's eyes filled with longing towards the young woman.

"I use to look at my late wife like that." Bernard said with a knowing grin. Jack wiped off the look on his face and cleared his throat saying,

"You really shouldn't mumble mate...Bad habit."

"Jack Sparrow you listen to me for once and you listen good. Do everything you can to keep that girl in your life. If you don't you'll be an even greater fool than I already think you are!" Bernard told Jack as the pirate captain's expression grew contemplative. By this time, Mignonette had released the first bird and now kissed the second on it's head and then released it into the air watching it fly off into the horizon line. Jack stepped forward and touched her arm,

"Come lass...we must be getting you back to the Pearl."

Mignonette nodded and turned to Bernard saying,

"Thank you Mr. Crane for your kindness."

"You're perfectly welcome my dear! And you keep an eye on Captain Sparrow you hear? Daft git probably will get drunk as a skunk should you let him! Who knows what he'd say or do then hmm?" Bernard said. That gave Mignonette a wonderful idea. An idea to solve her problems.

She began her plan simply after they left Bernard's house. She wove her arm through his and said,

"Captain Sparrow...can't you show me around Tortuga first?"

Trying not to audibly gulp at the pleasant tingling going up and down his arm, Jack asked,

"Whatever for Luv?"

"Well...I've never been anywhere besides Genovia really...and...I've come to realize this may be my only chance to see a bit of the world. So...can we put off returning to the ship for a little bit?" Mignonette asked meekly.

"Well..." Jack started, trying to figure out how to say no. She stopped and pouted a little with big wide eyes,

"Please Captain?"

Jack was trapped. Trapped by thick eyelashes and blue eyes. He sighed and gulped,

"I suppose one drink at the Faithful Bride wouldn't hurt..."

So he took her to the large pub in the center of town. They sat in a corner and Jack ordered two pints for them both. Mignonette was watching the fighting, gambling and wenching with fascination. Did her people back in Genovia act like this? She had to know.

"Have you ever been to Genovia Captain?" she asked Jack as the drinks came. Taking up his rum, Jack nodded,

"Certainly."

"Did you find the people there...act like this?" Mignonette asked.

"Wouldn't you know?" Jack asked with a raised brow. Mignonette blanched,

"Uh...well being a ladies maid, I've led a sheltered life."

Jack let that answer slide and nodded before taking a huge gulp,

"I can see that. But in answer to your question Milady, yes the common masses do act like this on occasion."

"Not to sound snobbish, but why would they act like this? Surely these vices aren't healthy." Mignonette asked.

"True...but they're distracting. See Luv, the reason these pirates...myself included...and those Genovian citizens indulge in wine, women and song is to help them forget the prosecution of the rich and powerful. Take Genovia for example..." Jack began to explain.

"Genovia?" asked Mignonette in disbelief.

"Aye...see when I was there...everyone was carrying on about the nobles putting their own taxes and laws on the land without the king knowing about it. Almost every Genovian never tasted a pear because they can't afford it. Every noble in Genovia is as crooked as a country road, apparently. At least, that's what I heard when I last visited." Jack continued.

"Is that so?" Mignonette said in thought tapping the side of her pint.

"Aye...Course things could have changed since then." Jack said before taking another drink. Mignonette muttered under her breath,

"Or they're about to..."

"Aren't you having any?" Jack asked pointing to her rum.

"Oh yes..." she said putting the dirty cup up to her lips then making a face, "Ugg! That's disgusting!"

Jack frowned,

"One's person's disgusting is another's sweet necter, Milady."

"I'm sorry...here...why don't you have it?" Mignonette said pushing it towards him. Jack shrugged,

"Well...I'd hate to waste good rum!"

"Is there anything else to drink?" Mignonette asked.

"Whiskey...sherry...bourbon...port...wine...whatever has been pilfered lately." Jack said finishing both his own and her drink.

"Well...I'd hate to leave here without getting anything...can we try something else?" Mignonette asked innocently. A little inebriated now, Jack grinned,

"Surely...Barkeep! Round of everything you've got!"

Mignonette simply smiled to herself as the night wore on. What Jack didn't know as Mignonette tried and pushed every drink away (and as it poured down his throat) that Mignonette was an old master at fine spirits. Her father had taught her how to decipher wine, and her governess had shown her how a lady holds her liquor. Royalty had to know how to drink with fellow lawmakers in order to make business. And this is how she knew exactly what to drink, refuse and give to Jack so that he could get drunk but not die from it. By the time Jack and Mignonette finally left the Faithful Bride, he was pretty snookered. By this time, he had told Mignonette countless tales of his adventures on the open seas. He tripped a bit on the deserted and darkened dirt road leading back to the docks and said with a drunken laugh,

"And that's...that's when they made me their chief!"

Mignonette laughed as she pulled on his arm to keep him from going into the bushes,

"That's too incredible! Almost as unbelievable as the one you told me about that pirate who was a living storm every time he grew angry!"

"I swear Luv...it's the God's truth! I swear...I swear by the fact you are...so...breathtakingly beauti-fibble...uh...bounty-ful...feautibul...no that's not it..." Jack slurred. Mignonette brushed aside his mixed up compliment,

"Yes well...Captain? May I ask you a favor Captain? Seeing as to how you're in such a fine mood?"

"You have gorgeous eyes you know that?" Jack said stumbling closer and looking down in them.

"Captain...I would like to request that you return me to Genovia at once! On your word as a captain and a gentleman!" Mignonette said as she tried not to get so hot and bothered by his intense stare. He stepped closer.

"I'd do anything for you Minnie...I'd even move the stars should you wish..." he whispered into the night. Mignonette caught her breath. No man had ever said such a thing to her. And while she was trying to convince herself that he was only intoxicated and not in his right mind, it was still the most beautiful thing she had ever heard. She gulped and said with strain,

"So...Do I have your word? Do we have an agreement?"

"We have an accord..."Jack said stepping closer and grabbing her upper arms, "In fact...let's seal it with a kiss aye?"

"Wha..." Mignonette started before his lips crashed down on hers. In instinct, she shut her eyes and moaned. It was the most pleasurable thing she had ever tasted. Firm and soft were his sun chapped lips, not too wet, not too dry. He breath in deeply though his mouth and clutched her hair a bit She could taste the liquor on his lips and it was divine. Then Jack broke the kiss, smiled and said,

"Goodnight Luv..." And with that he rolled his eyes back and passed out in a lump on the ground. Still in shock, Mignonette touched her swollen lips a moment then looked down to the handsome pirate laid out on the ground with a smile on his face. She sighed and then gathered up his hat and placed it on her own head. Stepping over his legs, she picked up his feet and began to drag him behind her towards the Black Pearl muttering,

"This had better be worth it!"

**&&&**

The next morning, Jack groaned in pain as the sun hit his eyes. He tried to sit up and only succeeded in rolling out of his bunk to the floor of his cabin below. Eventually, once the spinning stopped, he picked himself up and rubbed his temple. He stumbled across the room and caught a glimpse of his bloodshot brown eyes. He choked back a wave of nausea to open his cabin door, only to shout out in pain as the brightness of the mid morning sun greeted him.

"Mornin' Cap'n!" Gibbs called in a loud voice. The crew was working and Mignonette cast an expectant and waiting glance out of the corner of her eye towards the captain. Jack winced and shushed Gibbs saying,

"Less is more mate, Savvy?"

Gibbs chuckled,

"Rough night?"

"You have no idea..." Jack said as Mignonette approached him with a cool rag,

"Here...for you're head."

Taking the cold cloth to his throbbing head, Jack groaned gratefully,

"Thank you..."

"So...Captain...Do you remember our talk last night?" Mignonette asked expectantly.

"Some of it...why?"

"Well...last night you promised me something..."Mignonette hinted.

"Let me just stop you right there Luv...Ship's articles, twenty seventh rule, line thirty, paragraph two... 'If an accord is made with the Captain while he is intoxicated...said accord is null and void..." Jack told her. Mignonette's face dropped,

"What?"

"Can't have the Cap'n give away his command or anything like it while he's sloshed can he?" Gibbs added before walking away.

"But...but..." Mignonette stuttered out.

"Trust me Luv...half the time I don't even remember what I said or did Savvy?" Jack said before turning back to his cabin. Mignonette sighed and hung her head in defeat,

"Savvy..."

Jack turned to her,

"Oh and Luv?"

"Yes Captain?" Mignonette said raising her head. Jack gave her a knowing smile,

"First of all...a captain I may be...but I'm no gentleman...secondly...nice try..."

Mignonette gasped in outrage as he smiled smugly, winced and then retreated back into his cabin to fight his hangover.


	15. The Brotherhood Verse

**_A/N: I finally got fan art! Yay Kelixer! You rock! Check out my profile for the link. If it doesn't work, tell me...I'm not the most tech savvy person in the world, Savvy? It's of the sheild for the Brotherhood of the Black Pearl. So...read! Review! And check out Kelixer's awesome pic!_**

**_peace, love and lipgloss_**

**_Mlle. Fox_**

"SHUT UP!" Mia exclaimed in shock as she sat on a settee in the royal palace in Pyrus.

"So...was that a good reaction?" Monk asked unsure. They had just returned and told Mia the entire story. Actually, Captain Stottlemejer made the Prime Minister tell her. Lily nodded beside her best friend,

"It's her general stockpile for shock."

"Your Majesty I apologize for my deception." Motaz said.

"Yeah, three hundred and thirty years worth!" Mia said sarcastically.

"Wow that really is a lot of deception." Randy mused.

"Randy." Stottlemejer warned.

"The Brotherhood has only had the royal family's best intentions this entire time. If it was found out the wealth of Genovia was built on piracy..."Motaz said. Mia stood to her feet,

"What? We'd be looked down upon by the entire world? I know the laws now Mr. Motaz. There's no clause or royal stipulation that Genovia would get absorbed into Italy if we found out piracy was involved with Genovian rule. Heck, all the superpowers in the world built their empires using piracy!"

"That...that may be true Your Majesty...but I don't think the secret is just about Mignonette's dealing's with pirates or her affair with Captain Sparrow. There's something...deeper..."Monk pointed out, pointing down with his hands.

"Deeper? Like what?" Mia asked with a furrowed brow.

"I'm...not...sure yet...But I'm going to find out. I promise you." Monk told Mia. She nodded and said with resolve,

"I know you are. And the prime minister is going to help you by giving you every letter, every book, ANYTHING related to the Brotherhood of the Black Pearl. Can I be any more clear, Lily?"

Her friend shook her head,

"Not that I can see."

"Good. Well...I can't think of anything else to say so...carry on!" Mia ordered stomping out of the room. Everyone stood in awkward silence until Lily sighed and followed her out of the room saying,

"Best friend to a queen is such a demanding job!"

Clarisse and Joe had just entered the room, confused when Mia had not answered them as they passed her. Clarisse turned to the room,

"We just got out of a positively dreadful tea with the Von Tokens. What's going on?"

"Secret societies, love affairs, pirates, you know...the usual." Randy said as Stottlemejer gave him a disbelieving look.

"Oh well that explains it." Joe said dryly as Clarisse gave him a disbelieving look of her own.

Lily found the young woman at the end of the hall, looking at a small portrait of Mignonette. They made quite a pair. The dyed blond rocker chick in dark clothes and chain jewelry and the taller brunette in a smart Chanel suit, pearls and heels. Mia was focused on the portrait, eyes narrowed, almost daring the ghost of her ancestor to come out and be held accountable. Lily first broke the silence,

"So...I guess finding out what happened in Tortuga must have...upset you."

"Well, we haven't even read through the whole diary yet. So I can't judge." Mia said.

"But..."Lily offered. Mia turned to her on her heel,

"BUT why keep love a secret? Why deny your own heart and passion for another human being? Why did my ancestor put her love for a pirate aside for her crown?"

"Kinda like how you put your love for the guy trying to steal your crown aside by marrying someone else?" Lily pointed out smugly. Mia whimpered and stuttered a few minutes before saying,

"That's...that's...different!"

"Is it?" Lily asked. Mia stomped her foot and whined,

"Okay it isn't! But...what does that say about me? Does that mean I'm doomed to make the mistakes my ancestor made all those years ago? To have history repeat itself?"

"Well that's out of left field. What brought this murder mystery problem back to you?" Lily asked. Mia looked left and right and leaned into whisper,

"Before he left on business in Australia...Nickolas proposed..."

All Lily could do is gasp with a stupid excited grin.

&&&

"Well, I simply can't believe it. Sergie I knew you when you were trailing behind your father and had a poor complexion. This secret...is...too much." Clarisse said to the crestfallen prime minister as Adrian looked through the journal.

"Well Your Majesty at least now you know the truth." Natalie pointed out as Joseph poured out some wine.

"Yeah we read the diary on the way back. The minister's story correlates to Mignonette's account. But my question is...what does their love affair have to do with murder? Why is that secret a motive for murder?" Captain Stottlemejer asked as Adrian put down the journal and took the wine bottle from Joseph measuring and eying each glass trying to get them to be even. Joseph raised a curious eyebrow and looked at his wife who with a wave of her hand told him to drop it.

"Maybe we should read more of the diary." Randy suggested.

"That is an excellent idea Lt. Disher. Prime Minister? Would you retrieve Mignonette's diary off the desk if you please?" Clarisse asked. With a bow, Motaz stood and said with a slight bow,

"Certainly Your Majesty."

"Here we go...nice and even..."Monk said taking a wine glass in each hand, ready to hand them out. Mia and Lily reentered the room with Mia saying,

"I'm sorry everyone for storming out. It's just with this murder and...OPP!" Mia was interrupted when the toe of her high heel caught the edge of the Persian rug and she tripped, knocking into Monk who knocked into the Prime Minister, spilling the wine onto the open pages of the diary in the Prime Minister's hands. Everyone gasped and Monk screamed,

"WINE STAINS! I'm stained! Unclean! Unclean!"

"Mr. Monk stop it! Stop it!" Natalie said rushing up to the hyperventilating detective.

"The diary! Captain, can you help me clean this up? Quickly!" the Prime Minister exclaimed taking out his handkerchief.

"UNCLEAN!" Monk screamed in a daze.

"Monk! Shut up!" Stottlemejer barked at him taking out his own handkerchief when he stopped seeing something on the page. Fading in with the red of the wine, were letterings, invisible to the naked eye till now.

"What the?" Stottlemejer said as everyone leaned into notice what he saw. All except Adrian who was still freaking out about the wine on his suit.

"It looks like some kind of...code..." Lily observed. Clarisse was the first to read,

"Begun by blood, by blood undone..."

"Brothers until the battle's won..." Randy read next.

"Protect the Seed of Genovian Fruit..." Joe read.

"Planted by the Sparrow buried with secret loot..." Natalie read.

"The Broken Rose leads to the Pirate Queen's heart desire..."Lily read.

"Light the path to the Pearl with Scared Fire..." said the Prime Minister.

"Save the Seed, the Sparrow and the Pirate Queen with thine last breath..." Stottlemejer read.

"Truth revealed on Sparrow's chest." Mia finished the rhyme with disbelief.

"Unclean...unclean...unclean..."Monk mumbled to himself as the others looked up at each other is disbelief.

"This...this is...this is the lost Brotherhood Verse! That reveals the secret!" Motaz exclaimed in disbelief and excitement.

"But it's just a bunch of rhymes! We need to figure out what they mean." Clarisse said. They all looked up to the currently occupied Adrian Monk and then to each other. Stottlemejer sighed and said,

"Come on Randy."

"Where are you going?" Natalie asked.

"Randy and I are going into town to do some old fashioned police work. We're going to find out if anyone heard of someone planning to break into Windrose palace. Cause obviously, that verse is what the killer was after." Stottlemejer said.

"Well take Smithy with you. She knows where you can find that information." Mia told him.

"Certainly your Majesty. Natalie see if you can try to get...Mr. Clean here back to...normal..." Stottlemejer said looking at Monk.

"Easier said than done." Natalie said. Stottlemejer and Randy walked out of the room, only to have Joseph follow them and say to the Captain,

"Captain Stottlemejer! A moment!"

"Go ahead of me Randy. Grab a cab or something. And find Smithy." the Captain told his subordinate who walked off.

"You are an efficient leader Captain." Joseph remarked.

"Thank you Sir. I try. So what is this about?" the Captain asked.

"I've been paying very close attention to you Captain. It's been my job for the last forty years, it's habit. But with you I notice someone efficient, effective and smart. Knowing what to do to get the job done and who to get that job done." Joseph said.

"So?" the Captain asked.

"So...I would like to offer you a job." Joseph said.

"A job?" questioned the Captain.

"As Chief of Security of the Royal House of Genovia." Joseph said to a stunned Leland Stottlemejer.

&&&

"Are you feeling better Mr. Monk?" Clarisse asked the detective she sat next to on the settee and helping him with his suit,

"Unclean..." Monk muttered. Lily leaned into Mia's ear,

"Psycho..."

Natalie sighed,

"Don't worry he'll come out smelling like a rose...Rose?" Natalie stopped and Mia looked up at her.

"What is it?"

"The verse mentioned a rose...Is it any coincidence that the castle Mignonette built for her pirate captain is called Windrose?" Natalie asked.

"A windrose was a early term for a compass, Miss Teeger." the Prime Minister said wiping off the wine from his Armani. Monk paused his meticulous cleaning of his suit, thinking with a far off look.

"Compass?"

"Mr. Monk? Are you okay?" Mia asked. Monk looked his assistant in the eye and exclaimed,

"Natalie...give me the diary! "

The young blond retrieved it, asking,

"Why?"

Monk began talking rapidly and flipping pages,

"The Verse said, ' The Broken Rose leads to the Pirate Queen's heart desire.' Well we know Mignonette was the Pirate Queen right?"

"Right!" Natalie said.

"So if Windrose is also a name for a compass, a Broken Rose must mean a broken compass!" Monk said.

"Oh my gosh! Like the one we found in Mignonette's grave!" Natalie exclaimed.

"You found a broken compass in Mignonette's grave?" asked Clarisse.

"Only it's SUPPOSED to be broken...I remember flipping through the diary...and I saw a bit about the compass. Here it is! The next entry after the Black Pearl leaves Tortuga!" Monk said pointing to the passage. He read aloud,

"_After the Captain recovered from his 'condition', we set out for sea the next sunset...I was up on the deck watching the horizon line, while Captain Sparrow was watching me..." _


	16. Broken Compass

**_A/N: I apologize for the long update. Comp crashed on me. But thanks to Kelixar's new bunch of fanart, I was inspired again. It's from chapter five. Check it out on my profile. Awesome, Kelixar. Awesome._**

**_And to my other fan artist out there, please send me your stuff again. The link didn't work! Keep it simple please. My computer can't handle long complicated links._**

**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

* * *

Mignonette kept glancing out of the corner of her eye at the man whose manner and kiss she could not stop thinking of. He was such a paradox of personality. At first she thought he was a insensitive, crude cad who only thought of himself. Yet when she had spent time with him yesterday, he showed himself to having something akin to manners. Something like consideration. Something like a gentleman. Then with a rush of desire, she remembered his words.

"_First of all...a captain I may be...but I'm no gentleman...secondly...nice try..."_

He was no gentleman. For a gentleman would not have grown intoxicated in front of a lady. Secondly...a gentleman wouldn't have been so bold as to kiss her and then have the audacity to remember doing it. Oh that kiss! She still felt the ghost of his lips on hers. But it was merely him being drunk and needing a woman. There was no possible way he could actually care anything for her. Then she recalled his other words,

"_I'd do anything for you Minnie...I'd even move the stars should you wish..." _

She brushed her fingers across her lips figuring that a Queen she may be...but lately she was no lady. She was so distracted by her mixed up emotions, she failed to hear the clunk of Jack's boots on the decks as he came up beside her.

"Beautiful isn't it?" he said as she jumped in surprise. He watched in satisfaction as a blush filled those pretty cheeks of hers. For he could not stop thinking of that kiss either. Mignonette kept her eyes on the descending sun as Jack leaned on the railing with one hand saying to her,

"That's what I love about the sea Luv. That horizon line. There's freedom in it. If I find favor with the Lord, I hope His idea of heaven for me is a ship with a never ending horizon to chase."

Both were surprised at his candor, but they both decided to avoid talking about it. Mignonette merely nodded and said,

"Sounds lovely."

They stood in silence a moment watching the setting sun when Jack pulled out his black compass and opened it, casting his eyes to her a moment before snapping the compass shut. What caused Mignonette to speak up was the stiff manner he then held himself and what looked like a reddening of his own dark tanned complexion. But she asked not of his discomfort, but of their destination.

"So...where are we headed?"

"Just going to sail a bit...sack a few ships maybe." Jack replied with a shrug. Mignonette blanched,

"You mean...go into battle? With me aboard?"

"Don't fret. I'll teach you how to defend yourself if need be. But I have to keep this crew happy. They have families to feed, obligations to fulfill..." Jack said.

"Drink to buy, women to..." Mignonette started dryly before Jack clapped a hand over her mouth. He smiled rakishly at her before pointing to a man with a red beard, sanding a plank of wood,

"See him? That's Marcus O Malley, ship carpenter. He's got a wife of twenty eight years he's crazy about, and eight children. Two of which he's putting through the university."

"Oh..."Mignonette said as if disinterested. Jack sat on the railing and pointed to another crewman,

"Tom Gallagher. Second hand to the Master Gunner. The money he sends home goes to his elderly mother who thinks she's a chipmunk."

"A chipmunk?" asked Mignonette skeptically.

"You should hear her sing. At last but not least, Salvador Motaz, grunt sailor. He's trying to save enough money so he can marry his lady love back in Madrid." Jack explained.

"Oh..." Mignonette said sheepishly. Jack continued,

"So before you start thinking all pirates are rapists and drunkards out for a good time, remember. Not everyone is what they appear to be."

"Truer words never spoken." Mignonette said thinking of her own deception. She looked at him and crossed her arms,

"What of you? Why do you pillage and plunder?"

"So I can drink and fondle women." Jack replied smartly. But at Mignonette's dry look, and dropped chin, he sighed and looked to the setting sun once more,

"That's why."

"What?" Mignonette asked.

"I'm just trying to get a little heaven on earth Luv." Jack said.

"So...no mothers...children...wives or sweethearts?" Mignonette asked trying to tell herself she was just curious. Jack stood and walked off saying,

"Not that I know of."

Mignonette sighed in frustration again. The man was a puzzlement. Then the only other female voice aboard spoke to her left,

"Jack once told me that a ship was more than just a keel and a hull and a lot of sails."

Mignonette turned seeing Elizabeth tying a square knot. The young woman continued, "He said 'that's what a ship needs...But what a ship really is...what the Black Pearl really is...is freedom..' At least if memory serves right."

"How long have you known Jack?" Mignonette asked.

"Five years. It's a rather long story, but if it wasn't for Captain Jack Sparrow I would still be the Governor's daughter in Port Royal and married to the Commodore by now." Elizabeth said. That made Mignonette turn her head,

"You...you're the daughter of Governor Swann? Of Port Royal?"

"Yes, but don't spread it around. Father agreed to the marriage under the agreement The Black Pearl would never raid Port Royal and secretly protect it from other pirates. Well, that and he always liked Will..." Elizabeth said, holding a bit of rigging.

"Was Will a pirate when you met him?" Mignonette asked.

"Oh heavens no. He was a blacksmith apprentice. Until he met Jack anyway..." Elizabeth said. For the next hour, Mignonette learned of the recent adventures Jack Sparrow had with the Turners. How they met, had a miss of a wedding, saved the world a few times and met with the supernatural. Mignonette could scarcely believe a word.

"That's...amazing." she stated coming to the conclusion that anything was possible with Captain Sparrow.

"You know...in an odd way...The small attraction I had for Jack helped me realize what I had with Will. I knew Will was who I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. Jack is nice and handsome to be sure...but we're too alike." Elizabeth concluded.

"And did Jack have feelings for you?" Mignonette asked.

"No...he told me it would take a special woman to turn his head." Elizabeth asked.

"Dare I ask what Jack Sparrow defines as 'special'?" Mignonette asked.

"As if I wasn't already turned off, he told me his greatest fantasy was to have a woman chase him for a change. To surprise him in his cabin and seduce him and a lot of rot and nonsense like that." Elizabeth said not knowing she had set Mignonette's mind into motion.

"Did he?"

"Well I have noticed Jack will agree to anything when he's...shall we say...in the mood?" Elizabeth said walking off towards below, leaving Mignonette to bite her thumbnail. What she didn't see, that in the shadows of the lower decks, Elizabeth said dryly to Jack,

"I still say this is wrong."

"I promise on my sainted father not to let her go too far Savvy?" Jack asked, his metallic grin illuminated in the shadows.

"Your father is still alive Jack." Elizabeth said. Jack furrowed his brow,

"He is?"

Elizabeth shook her head and crossed her arms,

"I feel dirty."

"Just consider it making us square for that wee incident of the kraken and the manacle and my brush with death. Which you caused less we forget." Jack said in good humor.

"Why are you doing this Jack?" Elizabeth asked him. Jack sighed,

"She's going to try to seduce me eventually in hopes of getting us to sail to Genovia. So I save her some trouble and reject her quickly and let her get it out of the way. Sides..." Jack smiled wolfishly as he passed her,

"She a bloody good kisser..."

"What?" Elizabeth asked in surprise after him.

* * *

That night, the moon was half full, a light fog drifting over the breaking white caps of the navy ocean. Jack cracked his neck and came down from his post at the helm, the bell of changing watch ringing in the distance. He rounded the edge of the ladder and went to his door, opening it to find a most enticing sight. Mignonette, laying on one side of the bed, her skirts hitch up her calf, and the top three buttons of her dress opened to reveal her white petticoat. Jack gulped at how the candlelight illuminated her pale skin. He wasn't expecting this. She smiled warmly at him and said,

"Hello Captain. Hard night?"

Jack gulped at her intended double innuendo,

"Very..."

"Well...let's help you relax...Shall we?" she said rising from the bed smoothly and walking up to him. When her petite frame stood before him, she raised her hands to his belt buckle and said, "Let's get this off hmm?"

Before Jack could blink, his baldric and coat where gone. And Mignonette was placing his hat on his round table filled with maps and charts.

"Much obliged." Jack said walking to his chair, beginning to think this charade might not be the best idea. He sat down, resolving to calm himself, but he had currently forgotten how to pull off his boots. Mignonette was soon in a pool of skirts on the floor and pulling his boots off,

"Here...Allow me. There we are..." she said with a smile up at him as both boots slipped off. Jack smiled but then if faded when she began to massage his feet,

"You know Captain...I don't think I've thanked you properly for saving my life. Or for your kindness in Tortuga."

Jack managed to gulp out,

"Trifle really..."

"I mean sure...I would love it if you took me back to Genovia...but I understand. Ship and crew come first." Mignonette said.

"Right...ship...crew...first..." Jack said rubbing his neck. Mignonette noticed then asked innocently (but not truly),

"Does your neck hurt Captain?"

Jack hesitated to answer,

"A little."

"Well here..."she said rising and standing behind him, "Let me work that out for you."

"Oh no not necessary...Wow...that...that feels good." Jack groaned as her hand rubbed away and his pain melted alongside his resolution.

"You know Captain...if there's anything I can do to thank you...anything at all...just ask." Mignonette said.

"...Well the second thing..." Jack answered after a minute. That was all Mignonette needed to hear. She reached down, purposely putting her bosom on Jack's shoulder as she began to unbuckle his belt.

"One thing at a time hmm?"

She pulled out the leather from around his waist, giggling at the odd assortment of charms he had hooked on.

"What an odd way to accessorize. But it all suits you. Even this old compass of yours." she said opening it. To her confusion, it pointed to Jack. It continued to point to Jack as he stood before her and said softly,

"Interesting story about that compass. Points to what you want most in this world. Here...let me show you." he said. Mignonette stiffened and snapped it closed.

"No! No. That's quite all right. I...I forgot something I promised to do for Mr. Cotton. If you will excuse me?" she asked. He smiled and stepped aside, gesturing her to continue out. She nodded and began to walk out, spinning on her heel for a moment to return his compass before running out with a blush filling her cheeks. Jack sighed and placed his compass on the table,

"Time for a bath I think...a nice...long...icy cold bath." he muttered to himself.


	17. The Irritated Oyster

**_A/N: Look who's back! Why I believe it's that aborable Mlle.Fox! My how we have missed her! Okay, okay I know...but with a busted computer, a boring job with a lousy shift and little privacy using my Rents computer, fanfiction just wasn't happenin'. But now the computer fixed, I was inspired and my parents are wondering if I'm still alive in here! lol...So show me you forgive me by reading and reviewing. And I sure could use some fanart...hint hint nudge nudge..._**

**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

**_p.s. Oh! Almost forgot...planning a new POTC fic and I'm having an open casting call for characters! That's right insert yourself into the story of a young woman competing on a reality TV show where everyday folk become a pirate crew and the winner becomes Captain of the Black Pearl. See my profile for the rules._**

* * *

Captain Leland Stottlemejer smelled the salt of the sea waft through the air as he, Randy and Smithy walked down the cobblestones under the antique street lights wired for electricity. A few flickered her and there as the wind picked up, blowing in an untimely chill for the time of year. Smithy stopped and pointed to a lit tavern, the windows golden and inviting,

"There she is. 'The Irritated Oyster". The number one spot for Genovian criminals, lowlifes and ne're-do-wells."

"How are we going to know who to talk to, Captain?" Randy asked.

"We don't. We'll just see what we can hear for a while. Then if nobody is talking about the break-ins and the murder, we ask discreetly for their opinion." the Captain replied.

"How discreet?" Randy asked.

"Oh Gee Randy I don't know...We'll ask them 'Hey! How 'bout them crimes going on at the palaces? Know anything 'bout it?'" Stottlemejer asked sarcastically. Randy shook his head,

"I don't think that's discreet Captain."

The Captain sighed throwing his hands up in the air and stalking towards the tavern. Smithy patted Randy's shoulder,

"Barely passed the Academy huh, Sherlock?"

Randy just glared at her and followed the Captain. The 'Irritated Oyster' was like something out of a movie. Smoky, wooden and ready to give you splinters. Over the bar hung a dirty mirror, the electric bulbs in the low red lamps flickering and ready to short out. They sat at one table and orders drinks that came in dirty glasses. A small black and white TV sat on the bar and the news was on. When the follow up story came up about the royal break ins, the three watched quietly and listened as nearly everyone had something to say about it.

"BAH! Just some snoopy paparazzi trying to get a piece o' dirt on the royal family!" scoffed one old timer waving the story off.

"A paparazzi who kills? Nah...not likely."

"Do they know why that guard was working the seaside palace when he was posted at the royal palace?"

"No, my guess he was trying to earn some extra money. He was nearing retirement you know."

"Really? That's a shame. To die just as you're about to retire."

"Did anyone hear if he has a widow? Maybe with a large pension fund left by her dearly departed husband?"

The conversation died as everyone returned to nursing their cheap beer, watered down ale and poor wine. Smithy sighed and muttered to her companions,

"Well that was helpful."

"I guess it's time to be discreet. I've been working on some conversation starters here that I think might work." Randy said flipping through his notepad.

"Let me get this straight...you wrote out and thought through what are suppose to be random, unrehearsed questions?" Smithy asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah." Randy asked simply.

"Okay..." Smithy said taking a sip of her bottled water.

"What?" Randy asked.

"Little hint Sherlock. That ain't discretion." Smithy smiled smugly at him.

"Oh and what would you ask?" Randy inquired annoyed.

"I don't know." she said.

"Then how do you know you'll be discreet?" Randy said.

"I don't." she stated.

"And that way is better than thinking it out?" Randy countered.

"No but it's better than writing it down where it can be found." Smithy said.

"I'm a writer...I think by writing!" Randy defended himself.

"Is that the only time you think? When you write?" Smithy asked.

"Now wait a minute..."Randy started. Captain Stottlemejer sighed and leaned back in his chair, deciding to let them just work it out by completely staying out of it. Besides, he needed to think anyway. He couldn't believe Sir Joseph's offer. Him? Leland Stottlemejer; Head of the Royal Genovian Security. It had a nice ring to it. But could he actually consider it? His marriage might have been on the rocks, but leave his boys for the chance of a lifetime? That he didn't think he could do. He put his hands behind his neck and looked up at the low ceiling that slanted down with the roof. All Stottlemejer had to do was put an arm up and his fingers could skim the cobwebs over him. Then Stottlemejer frowned when he noticed something craved into the wood. It was a name. A name that would have meant nothing to him three weeks ago, but tonight it meant the whole world.

'Cap. J. Sparrow'

"Holy shit..."the Captain muttered under his breath in shock.

"Captain do you think I have an odd shaped head?" Randy asked as if heartbroken while Smithy rolled his eyes. Captain Stottlemejer ignored his question, taking Randy's notebook from him and demanding,

"Give me your pencil."

"Uh...why?" Randy asked confused as the Captain stood slightly, putting the paper on the ceiling and rubbing a makeshift etching of the paper. The bartended noticed his odd behavior and got suspicious, coming round the bar and heading over.

"Cap'n what is it?" Smithy asked.

"That S.O.B...that S.O.B!" Stottlemejer smiled shaking his head when he found a date too.

"What? Cap'n What?!" Smithy exclaimed her curiosity killing her. Stottlemejer chuckled and sat once more, telling them,

"Cap. J. Sparrow...16**_79_**!"

"Captain Sparrow? He was here?" Randy asked.

"He had to be. That Mother Lovin' S.O.B sat in this very spot, bored out of his skull and craved this with a knife or his cutlass or whatever! He could have used his dinner fork for all we know but that's not important..." the Captain told them.

"He used his butter knife?" Randy asked.

"Stay with us Sherlock." Smithy quipped.

"Look at the date again." Stottlemejer hinted.

"1679? What about it?" Smithy asked as Randy's eyes twinkled with memory. He took back the notebook, flipped to an early page and exclaimed,

"Mignonette met Jack in the year 16**_78_**...This carving means he was here a year later!"

"Which confirms what we already guessed...that Jack and Minnie had something going long after the Pearl left Genovia." the Captain explained.

"So how does that help us with the case?" Smithy asked.

"This is gonna help us be discreet..." the Captain said noticing the approaching bartended.

"'Ey! You ain't markin' up my ceiling are ya?" he asked gruffly.

"Like it's gonna ruin the decor..."Smithy joked as Randy kicked her under the table. "Ow!" she cried glaring at him. The Captain smiled and flipped back to the etching,

"Actually, I just noticed this cool craving on the ceiling. Ever seen it before?"

The bartender looked skeptically at the etching then smiled with exclamation,

"Well strap me down and kiss my fanny! You mean to tell me the Pirate King hisself sat down and had a pint in MY pub?"

"The Pirate King?" Stottlemejer asked.

"Yeah s'right! Captain Jack Sparrow is a legend round Genovia's lower classes. Me mum told me his adventures before tucking me in every night before she had to go to work at the peep show. They say...he had himself buried with his ship, The Black Pearl. And whoever finds the ship also finds his lost treasure." the barkeep told them.

"Treasure?" asked Randy, his interest piqued.

"Yeah...see...first he was a pirate mainly in the Caribbean, but when piracy started to die out over there, he set up port near Genovia, supposedly in one of the small islands that dot the coastline. And the way I heard it from Mum, was that 'cause of the ideal location of being betwixt France and Italy, Ol' Captain Jack made a nice sum of money by raiding ships sailing out from France, Italy, but especially the Spanish! And legend has it...that treasure is with him. Wow! I'm going to get myself a piece of paper and make a mark of that carving. Ha! Captain Jack Sparrow drank here! That's what the plague will say all right!" the barkeep said before running off to the back. Smithy gave a smug smile at the Captain,

"Ya'll thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

"Yup. Time to go back and tell Monk!" the Captain said standing, leaving a very large tip on the table. After all it was the least he could do since the helpful barkeep gave them a large tip of their own.

* * *

The Royals had just turned in for the evening. It was late and only a few maids and palace guards were wide awake. Well them and one obsessive compulsive detective who was busy in his suite dusting his room.

"Monk! Monk!" Stottlemejer said bursting into the room. Adrian nearly fell from the chair he stood on.

"Jeeze! Captain! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Monk exclaimed clutching his chest. Smithy frowned,

"What for the love of Colonel Sanders are ya'll doin' up there?"

"I always dust before bed." Monk said as if it were no big thing.

"Oh...course." Smithy nodded and shrugged. Stottlemejer smiled and told his old friend,

"Monk, you are not going to believe what we found out..."

He spent the next few minutes recounting the tale, finishing with a flourish by showing Monk the etching.

"Of course..."Monk said walking off to the side a bit. "A man wouldn't kill just to expose a secret...The Brotherhood Verse said that the Sparrow was buried with secret loot! Whoever broke into the palaces and killed Guttisepi was trying to find that treasure!"

"That's what we thought. But the killer must have known the Verse said that stuff beforehand!" Randy said.

"Which means the Killer...had another source...tell him about the treasure and that the Brotherhood Verse contained clues to that treasure. The Verse just doesn't reveal a secret...it's a treasure map..."Monk said.

"Wait a hot second, if we find out where the killer found out about the Verse saying stuff about the treasure, we might be able to figure out who he is!" Smithy declared.

"Smithy...can you wake the Prime Minister and tell him we need to start looking through those documents belonging to the Brotherhood right away?" Monk asked.

"Sure thang." she said nodding and walking out of the room.

"Monk...You don't think it's an inside job do you? That someone within the Brotherhood could have done it?" Stottlemejer asked. Monk shrugged and walked over to the table where he kept Mignonette's diary,

"Most of them are the decedents of pirates...Besides, those documents are the only other place that could have even mentioned the treasure or the verse or both."

"What are you going to look for now?" Randy asked as Monk opened the diary. Monk answered simply and cryptically,

"I'll know it when I see it..."

_"May 12, the Year of Our Lord 1678. I have been aboard the Pearl near three weeks now, and I have not spoken to Ja...er...Captain Sparrow except in brief conversation. I try to stay formal, but the man merely has to look at me with those brown gems he calls his eyes and I remember with mortification to my soul, uncomfortable desire to my core and a hint of curiosity and confusion that night in his cabin. I have since decided it wasn't the best plan in the world to seduce Captain Sparrow. I am also having second thoughts about the sword lessons Will Turner is giving me between watches..." _

* * *


	18. Freedom

**_A/N: Look! I updated! And this chapter has fluff, plot points and lenght! Yay me! Read and Review!_**

**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

* * *

"Concentrate Minnie!" Will barked at Mignonette with frustration.

"I am!" Mignonette insisted shaking the hair out of her face. For the last hour, Minnie gained four new cuts, six new bruises, and she was sure she cracked a rib. How any woman learned to fight was beyond her. Had she missed some secret, some...trick that made the task any easier? She must have, for Will kept yelling at her.

He leaned on his sword, rubbing his neck,

"Then why have we been having these lessons for three days now and it's almost like you just picked up a sword?"

"Well I've tried to practice but I've been busy with chores." Mignonette said huffing and puffing.

"Besides William..." piped up a familiar Cockney voice as Mignonette's eyes widened in fear. Jack came down the ladder to the main deck, walking up to Mignonette and saying as he passed Will,

"Let us not forget you practiced three hours a day to become the accomplished swordsman you are today." Then Jack whispered aside to Mignonette,

"Partly out of being frustrated over his love life if you know what I mean..."

Mignonette blushed at his innuendo, and Will asked dryly,

"Is there a reason you've butted in on our lesson Jack or are you just shooting the breeze?"

"Actually, I thought the fair lady could use some pointers. After all the rules of engagement are fine for dealing with naval officers and wealthy merchants, but the girl could be going up against vicious, cheating, blood thirsty cutthroats and riff rafts!" Jack pointed out. Thoroughly pale now, Mignonette squeaked out,

"Well that's comforting..."

Jack stepped behind Mignonette, his hand wrapped around her hand that held the sword, the other placed around her waist. Mignonette tried not to shiver as his hot breath whispered across her neck,

"Now, I'll move the sword, you follow me step for step, because footwork is half the battle. Rather like a dance really. You do know how to dance don't you Luv?"

"Yes, but um...I don't recall a dance that was anything like this." Mignonette replied with a quirked brow at their compromising position. Jack grinned knowingly,

"You've been at the wrong parties!"

"Jack..." groaned Will. Jack looked up at him, as if remembering he was there,

"Yes?"

"Could we?" Will asked raising his sword.

"Certainly. Now slow at first...You have to watch your opponents eyes, because the slightest flicker can tell you where they're going to step. Now bring the sword up...like that..."Jack instructed moving the sword with her and meeting Will's. Will moved his sword to the right, and Jack met it, "...now move it down. That's parry. That's defense. You see?"

"Yes." nodded Mignonette beginning to concentrate.

"Good...now move your right foot, left foot crosses right...that's it...now back...forwards...right...right...left...back...left...forward...right..." Jack said as they began to move faster, her steps matching Jacks, the sword clashing with Will's, her eyes focused on Will's eyes, her eyes listening to Jack's voice. That voice. Where had she heard it? It sounded like something out of her dreams. She was so focused on the rhythm of the fight and the rhythm of her thoughts, she barely heard Jack say,

"Now...it's all you Luv!"

And with that his warmth and presence were gone, Mignonette barely crying out,

"Jack!"

And to everyone's surprise, Mignonette kept up the fight, thrusting and parrying with Will, her footwork causing her to circle around with him on the deck until finally with one last swipe, Mignonette actually knocked the sword out of Will's hand! There was a stunned silence all around, the crew's jaws dropped in shock. All except Jack who had his arms folded and smiled smugly out of pride. Mignonette gasped, lowering her sword, looking at it in wonder as she exclaimed happily,

"I...I did it..."

Picking up his sword, Will admitted with a laugh,

"You certainly did Minnie."

"Jack! I did it!" Mignonette cried out going to Jack and hugging his neck.

"I'll take that as a thank you." Jack said smiling smugly over at Will over her shoulder. Then Mignonette remembered who she was hugging and backed up, picking up her sword again,

"I'm going to go practice in the hull."

"Just mind the cargo falling on ya Luv. That's how you got that nasty bump on your head remember?" Jack told her as she smiled and went below. Jack was still watching where she had been, when Will asked him,

"Jack? May I have a word?"

"Not sore cause I helped a girl beat you are you Whelp?" Jack asked turning to go to his cabin.

"No, but I don't think you should be taking advantage of that girl like you are beginning to do." Will said following Jack into the room covered in shadows of the late day.

"I am not taking advantage of her." Jack said picking up a chart.

"Oh? So...putting your arms around her from behind or trying to get her to seduce you in your cabin don't count as taking advantage?" Will asked.

"I see you've been talking with your wife." Jack said.

"And I see you lusting after a sweet and innocent girl." Will said.

"Trust me William, after the other night in my cabin I can tell you she ain't that innocent. And as of now I have yet to learned how sweet she truly is!" Jack said with a grin.

"Jack, why is she still on the Pearl in the first place? What happened to leaving her to find a ship in Tortuga?" Will asked.

"And leave her defenseless and alone where she could get hurt or worst or..." Jack blurted out before pausing and clamping his mouth shut, turning to his bookcase instead. Will cocked a suspicious brow,

"Wait just a minute...Did the famously selfish Captain Jack Sparrow just care about the welfare of someone else?"

"Now you're imagining things, Mr. Turner." Jack said going through book after book. Will came round the desk,

"You know Jack...come to think of it...we haven't had a steady course for weeks now. Not since we picked up Minnie."

"Coincidence, I assure you." Jack said tightlipped.

"Jack...what has your compass been pointing to lately?" Will asked knowingly as he leaned on the desk.

"What it always points to. The horizon line and the freedom that comes with it." Jack insisted.

"Or...perhaps the reason we've been sailing around aimlessly is because your compass has been pointing to what you want most in the world. A beautiful young lady to call your own." Will said matching the tone Jack had used with him when they first met.

"Ha! Rubbish." Jack said.

"You're not a eunuch are you?" Will asked narrowing his eyes at Jack. Jack spun on his heel and hissed,

"Alright! Maybe I have noticed she's beautiful! Maybe I know she's not a common strumpet like I can find in Tortuga. What evidence leads you to believe that I desire something deeper than the challenge of getting to bunk her?"

"Because every year around my anniversary with Elizabeth, I notice you looking at your compass. Then I see you looking at us. Then we sail around aimlessly. Now I notice you looking at your compass, then you look at us...and then you look at Mignonette, AND THEN we sail around aimlessly. And it's nowhere near my anniversary." Will pointed out to him. Jack shifted his feet and mumbled,

"Don't you have something metal to hammer?"

Will laughed and clapped his friend on the shoulder,

"A wobbly legged, rum soaked pirate once pointed out to me that I missed the opportune moment. If I were you Jack, I wouldn't make the same mistake. You may not get as lucky as I did."

Will turned to walk out, when Jack's voice caused him to pause,

"Why should a woman like her want anything to do with me anyway?"

Will turned to his captain, now leaning back on the round desk with his hands, and he said,

"That's how I use to think whenever I saw Elizabeth."

And with that, Will walked out of the captain's quarters, leaving his captain to think.

Later that night, Mignonette tossed and turned in her hammock. She saw visions of the strange brown eyed boy again. Now she saw him take two beads from a voodoo queen, later those beads where in his hair as he got hit in the face with an amulet, some of his once white teeth turning to bronze. A flash of him screaming and getting a tattoo of a bird in flight changed to a campfire scene where natives of some tribe were weaving his hair with dreadlocks and braids, and presenting him with a red and white striped sash. Another flash of fire and she started to whimper as a ship went up in flames, a hot fire poker appearing out of nowhere and being pressed into the boy's flesh as he scream. The last thing she saw before waking up was a red letter 'p' burned in his forearm.

She sat up in her hammock, catching her breath and her racing heart. She peeked out from behind her curtain and saw the rest of the crew still fast asleep. Some even snoring. She carefully stepped out of the cloth bed, her bare feet barely making a sound on the wood floor. She mused to herself that she had gotten used to the darkness of the ship after eight. For that was the time according to the ship's article's for all lights to be doused. It was merely three ladders full of eight steps, and sixty paces between each deck before she felt the light spray of the ocean again. The sky was bright as day with that full Caribbean moon and those countless stars. The wind kissed her face, blowing her curls behind her as she enjoyed the quiet. Then she stopped at seeing a figure sitting with one leg up on the rail, the other leg dangling dangerously over the other side. A compass was in one hand, a bottle of rum in the other. It was Jack. And the moonlight made him glow and Mignonette sigh. Why out of all the pirates in the Caribbean, did she have to be rescued by the truly gorgeous and handsome one?

Jack saw his needle shift towards the deck and he looked up seeing Mignonette looking like a tempting siren calling him to his death. Jack smiled and gave a quiet sigh. Maybe she would be the death of him. The old freedom loving, rum chugging scallywag would drown in her sweet eyes to be replaced by a faithful and loyal dog just wanting her to pet him. As he snapped his compass shut, he contemplated that maybe change would be a good thing. He smiled and said,

"Evening Miss Chestivaldi. What brings you up and about?"

"Who? Oh! Me! Um...couldn't sleep." Mignonette said remembering her alias.

"Neither could I. My dreams wouldn't let me." Jack said standing to his feet. Mignonette joined him by the rail to look at the breaking whitecaps,

"Same here."

"Oh, so you dreamt of me ravishing you as well, ay?" Jack said making the truth come across like a joke. Mignonette shook her head with a rue smile,

"Hardly. My dreams have been very odd lately. I've been dreaming of this strange boy."

"Didn't know you like them young, Luv." Jack quipped as Mignonette rolled her eyes.

"Not like that! Its like I'm watching him grow up before my eyes. First I saw him as a small child drawing and his father was going out to sea, never to return home to his family." Mignonette explained as Jack furrowed his eyes together. She went on,

"Then I saw him as a teenager, getting all sorts of things and ornaments put into his hair, his teeth replaced by metallics..." At this Jack licked the top of his teeth, "...I ever saw him getting branded as a..." Then something clicked in Mignonette's brain as she looked at Jack and all his trappings.

"As a what? Minnie?" Jack asked casually. Arms folded, Mignonette turned to Jack and asked scrutinizing his face,

"Captain Sparrow...let me see your arm a moment."

"Now Minnie, we're both tired. I don't think we should be involved in any strenuous physical activity this late at..." Mignonette interrupted him by grabbing his arm and pushing up the sleeve. " ...night..." Jack finished defeated. Mignonette gasped at the tattoo and pirate brand and looked up at him with a smirk of triumph,

"It's you! You're the boy I've been dreaming about!"

"Oh, so you have been dreaming about me." Jack quipped.

"I don't understand. How can I know about your father leaving, your adventures in New Orleans and with the Yucatan? I've only known you a few weeks and no one aboard knows such things or they would speak of it." she asked confused. Rather than admit he had stared at and admired her figure for three nights in a row, Jack blurted out the first thing he could think of.

"You know what Luv? I've heard of such things happening. See I have this friend of mine, a voodoo witch if you will..." Jack started.

"Tia Dalma." nodded Mignonette following along.

'_Bugger! How could she have remembered all that? She was out like a light!' _Jack thought to himself with a wince. He continued,

"Right...anyways she told me, that after a traumatic experience and a blow to the head, such as your unfortunate happenstance that led you here, a person develops...psychic capabilities."

"Psychic? Captain Sparrow, honestly..." Mignonette sighed turning to return below. Jack grabbed her hand and pulled her back,

"No listen. It makes sense. How else could you know such...intimate details about my life I have yet to share with my close friends and shipmates?" Jack asked her.

"Then why do I only dream about you?" Mignonette asked smugly. Jack noticed she was still holding his hand. Or was he still holding her hand? Anyway, he grinned and said,

"Well Tia Dalma said the vision is dependant upon the feelings of the one visualizing, Savvy?"

Catching on to his meaning as she looked down at their joined hands but still didn't let go, she merely said,

"Oh?"

Jack pushed some of her massive hair over her shoulder, satisfied to feel her quiver and flutter her eyes with pleasure,

"Question now would be...how does the lovely psychic feel about me, ay?"

"One could ask the same of the subject of her dreams." Mignonette asked as Jack took a step closer.

"Well the subject certainly has never felt this way before, that's for certain." Jack admitted tucking some hair behind her ear.

"Then perhaps...the alleged psychic feels the same way." Mignonette said licking her lips nervously.

"Tia Dalma also said physical contact helps strengthen the psychic bond." Jack said.

"I suppose an experiment is in order...just...to see what happens." Mignonette said as Jack looked at her poised lips. He placed a hand on her hip and pulled her closer saying,

"No harm in experimenting."

And with that their lips met. Mignonette sighed and tilted her head, wrapping her arms up around his neck and standing on her tiptoes to deepen the kiss. Jack had barely touched his rum in the last half hour. So why were his knees about to give? Why was his head light and dizzy? Why was his heart pounding in his chest? Why did she have to grip his hair like that? Didn't she know it was driving him wild? Mignonette had dreamt of kissing a man a thousand times as a girl. But no one had told her how the man would feel pressed against her, her body molding into his, something distinctively pressing into her abdomen. Finally they pulled apart for air, gulping and gasping their chests heaving, their hearts still pounding. Not touching for a moment, but missing the other's presence already, Jack shakily leaned on the rail and merely said,

"Wow..."

"I see you had an orange earlier Captain Sparrow. And that was no vision." Mignonette said her fingers touching her swollen lips. Jack grinned devilishly at her brash comment and her mischievous smile. He came around and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing her against him again. She sighed in delight as she leaned into him. Queen or not, Mignonette just felt like a woman. She mused to herself it was the first time ever she ever felt like a woman. Jack kissed her neck and asked with a smile as he nuzzled into her hair,

"Now where did a proper maid learn such improper remarks like that?"

Mignonette searched the sea a moment for her answer and then said,

"Well...my mistress spent a lot of time in the royal courts. You would be surprised what those of blue blood and pedigrees and royal titles do and say for fun."

"Hmm...never disguised myself as a nobleman before. Now I'm curious." Jack said leaning his head on top of hers.

"Well, Genovian royalty aren't too different from commoners. I've certainly met some royals who've acted like pirates." Mignonette said thinking of herself at the moment.

"See that's what I've always believed. Every man is equal see, cause we're all human. It's just some humans take advantage of the opportunities given to them, some don't, and other's don't get the opportunities to take advantage of." Jack told her.

"Like Genovia?" Mignonette thought aloud.

"Precisely. For instance if the Genovian people could afford an education for their children like the royals could, there would be better business, less poverty, more people to decide what the laws are, thus ensuring the best for all the people than the best for a select few." Jack told her.

"Like the Greeks...and their democracy system?" Mignonette asked. Jack furrowed his brow,

"How does a maid know of the Greeks?"

Meeting his questioning gaze a moment, then looking at the sea, Mignonette then asked looking Jack straight in the eye,

"Well how does a pirate?"

Jack shrugged,

"Although ill-gained, my father did use his 'profits' to fund enough of an education for me to choose a respectable path in life. Even to the point where I was in the employ of the East India Trading Company."

"You worked for the EIC? What happened?" Mignonette asked. Jack straightened, though he still had his hands on her hips,

"They asked me to run slaves to the Caribbean."

"Slaves?" Mignonette asked. Jack laughed and then said to her,

"Oh that's right. Genovia is one of the few countries in the world that has done the right thing and outlawed slavery."

"Before you think it was purely noble, if memory serves it was just because our country is so small there wasn't a need for slaves." Mignonette admitted.

"Hmm well...One of the things I hold near and dear is freedom Luv. And if I have to risk my freedom to help another man get his...so be it." Jack said.

"You are an extraordinary man Jack Sparrow." Mignonette said in awe. Jack met her gaze and leaned in for another kiss,

"You haven't seen anything yet!"

Mignonette lifted her hand up to caress his jaw as she tilted her head to deepen the kiss. She couldn't believe it. She had fallen in love.


End file.
